Indonesia’s President to bestow prestigious golden visa on OpenAI CEO Sam Altman

INDONESIA: In a momentous development, President Joko Widodo is set to bestow the prestigious golden visa upon Sam Altman, the CEO of OpenAI, the parent company of ChatGPT.

This announcement was made by the Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs and Investment, Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan.

The issuance of this golden visa aligns with the country’s strategy to attract individuals of exceptional intellectual caliber, ranging from accomplished researchers to influential personalities – exemplified by Altman himself.

Mr. Pandjaitan elaborated on Tuesday (1 Aug) during a media briefing, stating that President Joko Widodo’s decision to extend the golden visa to Altman is attributed to his substantial contributions and frequent visits to Indonesia.

The golden visa initiative specifically caters to foreign nationals with a proven track record of high intellectual capabilities, including distinguished researchers from renowned universities and influential figures such as Sam Altman, the CEO of ChatGPT.

Notably, the golden visa program has been devised as a special incentive to allure investors who are considering investments within Indonesia’s borders.

Among its privileges, holders of the golden visa will relish streamlined and expedited processes for visa applications and immigration-related affairs.

Moreover, this visa affords prolonged durations of stay and facilitates swifter pathways to citizenship.

Initiatives to bolster Indonesia’s foreign investment

The introduction of the golden visa scheme emerges as the latest strategic maneuver orchestrated by the Directorate General of Immigration under the Ministry of Law and Human Rights, aimed at bolstering foreign investment within Indonesia.

While the official implementation of the golden visa is slated for the near future, efforts to revise pertinent governmental regulations to accommodate this policy are on track to conclude within the next week.

Altman’s recent visit to Indonesia in June marked yet another instance of his presence within the country.

During this visit, he reaffirmed his dedication to augmenting ChatGPT’s support for the Indonesian language.

Articulating his vision for Indonesia’s role in shaping the progression of language models, Altman conveyed his aspirations for the nation to curate an extensive dataset in the Indonesian language.

This dataset would play a pivotal role in training and evaluating the forthcoming generation of language models, thereby contributing significantly to the realm of artificial intelligence.