JAKARTA - Indonesia has a great opportunity to leap forward in climate resilience, energy transition to digital governance, if it is able to properly utilize geospatial AI (artificial intelligence) and digital infrastructure.
This was said by futurist and geopolitical analyst Parag Khanna on the sidelines of the 2026 Munich Security Conference (MSC) held in Munich, Germany on February 13-15.
Khanna explained that Indonesia attracted the attention of many global companies because it has a young population, is technologically literate, and has a large market.
"There are not many countries with more than 200 million people who are also open, dynamic, and culturally creative. It's a rare combination," Khanna explained, as quoted Tuesday (17/2).
However, Khanna emphasized that foreign companies cannot simply copy content from other countries.
"Content must be designed specifically for the Indonesian people," he said.
Furthermore, Khanna said, Indonesia is very rich in clean energy sources such as wind, solar, geothermal, and hydro. The challenge is to find the most optimal location for renewable energy installations.
According to him, geospatial intelligence allows for precise analysis of solar radiation patterns to maps of geothermal potential.
"With a strong data foundation, technology companies and local stakeholders can build efficient energy systems. The end result is clear: Indonesia's carbon emissions will drop significantly," said Khanna.
When asked about digital development, Khanna emphasized the importance of high-speed communication networks: satellites, mesh networks, internet cables, and national telecommunications infrastructure.
"Information must be able to move quickly. Both for disaster warnings for farmers, as well as commercial applications," he explained.
He warned of the importance of choosing data center locations that take climate risks into account.
"Data centers are wasteful of energy and water. It operates for decades, so it must be placed in a climate-safe area," he said.
As an archipelago country, Indonesia according to the CEO of AlhpaGeo is "very vulnerable to climate shocks." Digital data management is important in this regard.
According to Khanna, almost all physical climate risks - from tropical storms, floods, droughts, heat waves, forest fires, to land subsidence - threaten Indonesia's vast and scattered territory.
"Early warning systems now have to work in two dimensions: meteorological for the short term, and climatological for the long term," explains Khanna.
Weekly forecasts, he continued, can help governments move residents, prepare logistics, and secure infrastructure. Meanwhile, long-term data is needed to read trends such as multi-year droughts or coastal erosion that threaten settlements and vital assets.
"Once the data is transparent and can be interpreted, local governments can make quick and fact-based decisions," he said.
When asked to formulate one of the most strategic national initiatives, Khanna chose real-time data-based digital governance.
By combining social media metadata, surveys, and public opinion mapping, the government can read the needs of citizens specifically and locally.
"You don't need to wait for elections to know what the people need. With data, the delivery of public services can take place 24/7," he said.
Khanna himself describes the future of geospatial AI as "very fast-evolving." Classification models are getting more precise and data updates are getting more frequent. At AlphaGeo, risk assessment algorithms are now getting granular down to the building level.
"We are creating a rich data fabric for every coordinate in any country. This allows for very local and very precise policy interventions," he said.
Regarding the development of generative AI, Khanna said that the most important innovation is the copilot, an AI assistant that is able to bridge various geospatial data sources.
"In a sea of data, the important thing is to find the signal. Copilot helps decision makers understand patterns quickly and accurately," he said.
Khanna is optimistic that Indonesia will make a big leap in the next five years.
"Indonesia has the energy, creativity, and social dynamics needed to lead the digital transformation in the region," he concluded.
The English, Chinese, Japanese, Arabic, and French versions are automatically generated by the AI. So there may still be inaccuracies in translating, please always see Indonesian as our main language. (system supported by DigitalSiber.id)
