Bill Gates says AI key for health, education innovation

JAKARTA: Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates said artificial intelligence will play a key role in unlocking new tools for health, education and agriculture at a meeting with Indonesia’s president on Wednesday.

Indonesia is Southeast Asia’s biggest economy and has a population of around 280 million across its sprawling archipelago, with a growing demand for data centres and AI tech in the region.

Gates visited President Prabowo Subianto and Indonesian philanthropists in the capital Jakarta, where he spoke about his optimism that AI-driven innovation will help tackle global challenges.

“AI is going to help us discover new tools. And even in the delivery of health and education and agriculture advice, we’ll be using AI,” he told a meeting.

“Once we finish (eradicting) polio, we’d like to try and eradicate measles and malaria as well. We have some new tools for that. And of course, part of my optimism about the innovation is because we have now artificial intelligence.”

UN agencies have been campaigning for four decades to eradicate polio, most often spread through sewage and contaminated water.

The billionaire philanthropist has donated more than $159 million to Indonesia since 2009, mostly to the health sector including to fund vaccines, Prabowo said.

Gates later visited an elementary school in Jakarta alongside Prabowo to see students having free meals as part of a programme launched by the Indonesian leader.

Prabowo also announced plans to give Gates Indonesia’s highest civilian award for his “contribution to the Indonesian people and the world”.

Microsoft chief executive officer Satya Nadella last year pledged a $1.7 billion investment in AI and cloud computing to help develop Indonesia’s AI infrastructure.