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Digital whiz Sonita Lontoh talks about the potential of artificial intelligence in Indonesia and her plans to leverage her recent induction into The Asian Hall of Fame, writes Mariel Grazella

Sonita Lontoh talks about the future of artificial intelligence in Indonesia

The open debate between technology magnates Elon Musk of Tesla and Mark Zuckerberg of Facebook magnified the intensifying discussions on artificial intelligence (AI) among technology practitioners.

Home-grown digital maverick Sonita Lontoh weighed in on the matter as well, with a special focus on Indonesia.

“Personally, I think we are still quite far away from AI really taking over and achieving singularity, where a universal basic income may make sense,” she commented.

Technologists in the West have spoken about the need for governments to provide basic income once AI takes over human jobs.

Instead of supplanting human workers, Sonita said that AI would contribute to social betterment, including in Indonesia. “Just as in the US, I think there is no reason why AI or machine learning cannot be applied in Indonesia to make things safer and easier for people,” she said.

She noted that Indonesia must focus on transforming digitally first before it could apply AI, adding that to make strides in the new digital world, businesses and governments alike must adopt the digital culture, defined as “an expanded appetite for risks, an affinity for rapid experimentation, and an entrepreneurial spirit in its people”.

Here, visionary leaders will play a fundamental role as they will be the proponents of change with their transformative vision. “I think that in the next decade, what we have to focus on is how to best educate and train the next generation of young people to be prepared for the 21st-century knowledge-based economy,” she added.

As for Sonita, her undoubted leadership capabilities have led her to be inducted into the Asian Hall of Fame this year. The Asian Hall of Fame recognises and honours the achievements of Asian Pacific Americans, with the intention of inspiring the next generation.

Besides her, two-time baseball World Series champion Johnny Damon, Hollywood actor Daniel Dae-kim, and inventor of 24 patents Duy Loan-le were inducted this year.

“The way I will leverage this [induction] is by sharing with the world that my heritage has given me the opportunity to look at the world from a more global perspective. That while we have an unsurpassed opportunity here in America, we can also help spur more global cross-collaborations between America—especially related to technology in Silicon Valley—and the world to enable more growth, opportunity, and sustainability for all,” she said.

Sonita looks to continue enhancing these global cross-collaborations in technology and innovation between the US and Southeast Asia, particularly Indonesia, through the Silicon Valley Asia Technology Alliance, which she co-founded.

When not connecting people across continents, Sonita takes time to read newspapers and magazines, although she said that her packed schedule makes it “hard to be able to properly digest a good book”. As for music, she loves upbeat tunes.

“My playlist is mostly songs to keep me motivated at the gym, with songs like “Eye of the Tiger”, “We Will Rock You”, “Living on a Prayer”, “Pour Some Sugar on Me” and the like. When relaxing, I like to listen to slow songs such as Frank Sinatra or Diana Krall, but unfortunately, I don’t have that much time to relax!” she said.