Jadi ceritanya, beberapa bulan lalu saya dapat email dari Bank Indonesia. Mau ngundang saya ngisi training tentang digital innovation. Reaksi pertama: “Wait, yang beneran Bank Indonesia?”
Yeah, I was nervous. This is the central bank. The institution that regulates the entire financial system. And they want me to talk about AI and machine learning? In front of their staff?
I spent way too long preparing my slides. Checked them maybe ten times. Asked colleagues if my explanations were clear. You know, the usual anxiety spiral when you’re about to present to people who literally set the rules for your industry.
The Surprise
Here’s what I didn’t expect: they were genuinely curious.
I walked in expecting stiff formality - you know, the regulatory vibe. Questions that feel more like examinations. But these folks wanted to understand. They asked about how generative AI actually works. How we use ML for credit scoring at Amartha. What the real challenges are (not the polished conference version, the actual ones).
And I realized - of course they’re curious. They’re trying to figure out how to regulate something that’s evolving faster than any rulebook can keep up with. They need to understand what’s actually happening on the ground.
What I Actually Shared
I decided to be honest with them. Not just the success stories, but the messy parts too.
I talked about how we use alternative data to score borrowers who have no credit history - warung owners, farmers, people the traditional banks have ignored. How that can be incredibly powerful for financial inclusion. But also how it can go wrong if you’re not careful about bias in your models.
I showed them real demos from what we build at Amartha. Not hypothetical “AI could do X” presentations, but actual systems. Here’s how it works. Here’s where it fails. Here’s what we’re still figuring out.
I think they appreciated the honesty. Or at least, they asked better questions because of it.
Why This Matters
Regulators understanding technology isn’t just nice to have - it’s essential. If policymakers don’t understand what AI can and can’t do, they’ll either overregulate (killing innovation) or underregulate (letting bad actors run wild).
UMKM owners across Indonesia need better access to financial services. Technology can help. But only if the people writing the rules understand the technology.
So yeah, I was nervous speaking at BI. But walking out, I felt genuinely hopeful. Mereka serius mau belajar. And that’s a good sign for the ecosystem.
Kapan-kapan kalau diundang lagi, mungkin saya nggak akan se-panik ini. Mungkin.