"Communication, starting from collecting data on the number of antigen and PCR tests, is very important to prevent the spread of COVID-19," BRIN Development Policy Deputy Mego Pinandito noted in a statement here on Tuesday.
"The implementation of information technology has proven to be very helpful in handling and mitigating (the impacts of) COVID-19," he added.
He remarked that the workshop, titled "Application of Artificial Intelligence to Accelerate the Mitigation of COVID-19 Pandemic," took place virtually on May 9-11, 2023.
Pinandito, who served as APEC PPSTI Indonesia's Focal Point Person, stated that the meeting could broaden networks in the development of artificial intelligence, both in the health sector and in other fields.
The workshop discussed current research and innovation achievements, both from scientific and technological aspects that have been successfully developed and their implementation.
In addition, there is a discussion of research related to the future.
"Continued discussions and communication with national and international researchers will provide an opportunity to accelerate the achievement of the expected research targets," he affirmed.
"This can also expand the field of application of artificial intelligence itself, which of course will develop both downstream for handling health mitigation and upstream for the development of drugs, vaccines, and other therapies," he remarked.
He stated that the workshop was in accordance with BRIN's policy to strengthen research and innovation ecosystems nationally, boost the competence of national researchers in the field of artificial intelligence, and various other researches related to handling and mitigating other diseases.
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Meanwhile, Head of the Electronics and Informatics Research Organization at BRIN Budi Prawara remarked that participants from 21 APEC member countries would participate in this activity.
BRIN, as the host, facilitated the holding of the workshop starting from the preparation for the implementation by selecting topics through a survey of APEC member countries to determine the right speakers and also conducting the workshop.
BRIN will also present several forms of implementation of artificial intelligence technology in mitigating COVID-19.
"Through the workshop, we can share policies on the impact of COVID-19 on the economic recovery of APEC members and exchange information and experiences regarding artificial intelligence-based products or technologies that can contribute to COVID-19 mitigation," Prawara noted.
"Besides that, this also encourages cross-forum collaboration and formulates policy recommendations for using pioneering innovative products," he added.
Meanwhile, Head of the Research Center for Artificial Intelligence and Cybersecurity of the National Agency for Research and Innovation Anto Satriyo Nugroho stated that extensive research has been conducted in Indonesia related to artificial intelligence.
These researches range from the COVID-19 Research and Technology Innovation Task Force (TFRIC), research on the diagnosis of COVID-19 from X-ray images conducted by Gadjah Mada University to monitoring global spread.
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Translator: Sugiharto Purnama, Katriana
Editor: Yuni Arisandy Sinaga
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