Badung, Bali (ANTARA) – Higher Education, Science and Technology Minister Brian Yuliarto urged universities to strengthen fundamental science to prepare Indonesian talent for advances in artificial intelligence and the era of superintelligence.
Brian said rapid technological advances, including agentic AI, superintelligence and quantum computing, require universities to develop talent with strong foundations in fundamental science.
“Unless we master hard science, unless we master fundamental science, we will become slaves to this new superintelligence,” Brian said Friday at KONASPI XII 2026 in Nusa Dua, Bali.
He said mastering technology was insufficient if limited to using AI-based products, adding that talent must understand scientific fundamentals to develop and control complex technologies.
Brian said AI development has moved toward agentic AI, which can perform tasks with greater autonomy and could eventually converge with superintelligence and quantum computing.
“Agentic AI meets superintelligence, which meets quantum computation. We will be increasingly left behind,” he said.
He said future computers would increasingly use quantum computing based on quantum mechanics, which differs from the binary systems commonly used today.
Brian therefore stressed the need to strengthen hard and fundamental sciences in higher education, saying they provide a foundation for young Indonesians to adapt to technological change.
“Our talent, our youth, may appear intelligent at first glance, but in fact, they are only artificial. So artificial intelligence will truly be artificial for our young people if they do not master hard science and fundamental science,” he said.
He also emphasized the role of teachers and universities in ensuring technological development is supported by strong foundations in fundamental science.
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Translator: Bayu Prasetyo
Editor: Rahmad Nasution
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