Indonesia’s President Joko Widodo draws ire of artists over AI-generated Eid illustration

The outgoing president’s traditional Eid al-Fitr message of forgiveness featured an image critics strongly suspect was made using AI
Artists called the act “difficult to forgive” as it felt like a betrayal of creative workers

Indonesia

Resty Woro Yuniar

Published: 7:00pm, 10 Apr 2024

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Indonesia’s outgoing president Joko Widodo is under fire after his social media posts featuring a traditional message welcoming the Eid al-Fitr holiday and asking for forgiveness instead provoked outrage for their use of an AI-generated image, a betrayal of human artists that critics called “difficult to forgive”.

Muslims traditionally ask for forgiveness at the beginning of the Eid holiday, which marks the end of the Ramadan fasting period.

In the posts to his official X (formerly Twitter) and Instagram accounts on Wednesday, Widodo wrote: “With a clean and grateful heart, let’s welcome this day of victory. May Eid al-Fitr bring a lot of happiness and blessings to all of us. May you return for Eid for years, and may you be the winners of God’s forgiveness.”

Attached to the posts was an image of what appears to be the capital city of Jakarta, featuring a crowd of people in front of an elevated train. The picture was immediately suspected of being AI-generated after users noticed its many oddities, including a floating football, poorly rendered hands, and durians that were cut up like mangoes.

A post on X by Indonesian President Joko Widodo welcoming the Eid al-Fitr holiday on Wednesday. Photo: X/@jokowi

In the past, Widodo’s social media team would include illustrations from local, human artists with such holidays messages. The break with that tradition was seen as particularly offensive by designers and other creative workers, who believe that AI is stealing their work and employment opportunities.

“It is difficult to forgive leaders and their families and colleagues who [prioritise] self-interests and are evil towards the people. Moreover, with this AI, you do not support local illustrators, and [ignorant] to people’s criticism and comments. Indonesian creative and illustration industry, RIP,” user @Ariestanabirah wrote on X.

Another X user, @nv_chrome, posted a message comparing the AI-generated image to previous human illustrations posted by Widodo’s accounts. In the caption, they wrote: “The downgrade is real. Our president, who famously used creative illustration for special days, now he decided to use an AI image. Funny enough, since the illustration industry is not really supported yet here, & now we have to face this ridicule from our own president.”

A response to Indonesian President Joko Widodo’s post on X on Wednesday. Photo: X/@nv_chrome

“This is [unforgivable] because you are a president, but you’re using AI. Keep up the spirit, fellow illustrators of this country,” Instagram user Adorkablewriter said.

Many internet users also pointed out that Anies Baswedan – the former Jakarta governor who lost to Widodo’s favoured candidate, Prabowo Subianto, in February’s presidential election – posted a “better” non-AI illustration to convey his Eid greetings.

“The way he used illustration instead of AI really speaks volume[s] for his appreciation towards artists,” X user @midgardst commented.

People gather to enjoy traditional dishes during Eid al-Fitr celebration in Semarang, Central Java, Indonesia, on Wednesday. Photo: Xinhua

Widodo previously said Indonesia should not fear AI, but instead prepare for the challenges that the technology may bring.

“At the G7, at the G20, at the Asean Summit, everyone was talking about AI, all countries were very afraid about AI. The regulations don’t exist yet, the rules don’t exist yet, the AI keeps running, keeps changing. Everything was discussed. This means that we have to anticipate and prepare ourselves,” Widodo said in September during a speech at Bogor Agricultural University.

“Don’t be afraid of AI. Technology will not be able to beat humans … because machines only have chips, but humans have hearts and feelings.”

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A month later, Widodo fell victim to the technology, as a video of him speaking in Mandarin was uploaded to X by a user who accused the president of being anti-Islamic and allying himself with China. The now-deleted video was deepfake made using AI deep-learning technology, according to Indonesia’s Ministry of Communications and Informatics.

In 2020, the government launched Indonesia’s National Strategy for Artificial Intelligence 2020-2045, which dictates that AI will be used in five focus areas including healthcare, bureaucracy reform, education and research, food sufficiency, and mobility and smart cities.

A study by consulting firm Kearney and Singapore-based investment firm EDBI in 2020 found that AI could boost Indonesia’s GDP by 12 per cent, or some US$366 billion, by 2030, if it was accompanied by strengthened infrastructure and human capital.

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