Jakarta (ANTARA News) - President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) has stated that technology advancement in the field of public relations can bring automation, but it still needs to be managed by humans.

"Public Relations work cannot fully be carried out by artificial intelligence. They need to be managed by humans, as they are the ones who are capable of deciding how the machines work and the public relations narrations," Jokowi stated, while opening the Public Relations National Convention 2018 in the State Palace, on Monday.

He believed that the modern industrial revolution provided technological advances that can help and even take over some of the load from the PR works.

"Nowadays, we hear about advanced robotics, artificial intelligence, and big data analytics almost every day," he noted.

These days, he continued, people can easily get reports on media monitoring and analysis of news in an easy and real-time manner.

"The machines can even provide suggestions on what needs to be mitigated, what needs to be reiterated, and what needs to be followed up," he added.

Media monitoring is no longer done by humans in real-time, but through artificial intelligence and big data analytics. It is carried out by an analytical engine capable of understanding digital landscapes and which has the ability to read trends and compose news.

"I felt this when I entered Silicon Valley, headquarters of Twitter, headquarters of Facebook, and headquarters of Google and Plug and Play," he remarked.

He believed that the rapid change must be responded and anticipated quickly and precisely.

Jokowi revealed that it is important to master the latest technology in a positive manner.

Additionally, he also appreciated the consistency of the BPP Perhumas, which continued to carry the `Indonesia bicara baik` (well spoken Indonesia) hashtags.

"I see this appearing in every Perhumas event, on the website, in the letters, on the backdrop of the event, and on the Perhumas posters, and this is good," he pointed out.

He is confident that the movement can help people from being pessimistic to being more optimistic.

Furthermore, he stated that speaking positively does not cover the fact that there still could be flaws.

"If we want Indonesia to advance, we need criticisms that are based on data, rather than those that were made to fool or lie. We do not need narratives that spread pessimism, or one that is scary," he revealed.

The president invited all parties to continue to spread optimism and narratives that educate the nation.

"Let us continue to convey narratives that inspire each other and collaborate with each other, so that our reputation would be increasingly respected and more dignified," Jokowi stressed.

Reporting by Agus Salim
Editing by Aria Cindyara, Yoseph Hariyadi

Reporter: antara
Editor: Heru Purwanto
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