Research and Higher Education Minister Muhammad Nasir (third left, seated) along with Tokopedia vice president of engineering Herman Widjaja (left), CEO William Tanuwijaya (second left), UI rector Muhammad Anis (second right) and school of computer science (Fasilkom) dean Mirna Adriani listen to an explanation about the newly launched AI Center of Excellence at the Fasilkom building in Depok, West Java on March 28. (JP/ ars)
E-commerce platform Tokopedia and the University of Indonesia (UI) launched on Thursday an artificial intelligence (AI) center at the university’s school of computer science in Depok, West Java.
The research center, the first equipped with deep learning super computer technology NVIDIA® DGX-1 in Indonesia, is expected to serve as an AI-development center for the university’s academics and researchers.
Tokopedia CEO and founder William Tanuwijaya said he expected the collaboration would help create AI-based solutions for social and industry challenges, including in the e-commerce industry.
“Imagine when sellers can ship their goods within a day to customers on other islands,” he said. “We can achieve that by making use of artificial intelligence technology, such as demand prediction, smart warehouses and smart logistics.”
He said his company would build more AI centers outside Java to help ensure equity in Indonesia’s economic and human resource development.
UI school of computer science dean Mirna Adriani expressed hope the center could help academics and researchers develop AI-based systems for payments, e-commerce analytics and information security.
“We also expect the center to help produce professionals who are ready to contribute and compete globally, especially in the field of AI,” she added.
Technology, Research and Higher Education Minister Muhammad Nasir echoed these statements, saying that limited human resource capacity was a common problem for start-up companies in the country.
“I hope such collaboration does not stop at UI but will continue on a larger scale to produce a highly skilled workforce to boost the economy,” he said on the sidelines of the event. (ars/bbn)
Source“TheJakartaPost”