Bali’s rare combination of natural beauty, cultural depth, easy access, and sustained public support reinforce one another and make the island one of the most investable destinations in the region. However, the same combination is why Bali is under visible strain and why artificial intelligence must be used with precision to mitigate any damage.
For policymakers, operators and investors, who depend on Bali’s long-term appeal, the central question is no longer whether technology can increase efficiency. It is whether technology can protect the value that makes Bali a captive market.
Efficiencies created by technology are not always improvements. For example, AI-driven promotion systems, recommendation engines, and targeted marketing tools optimise conversions, and thus visitor volume. This improves ease of business but leads to intensified pressure on land, water, waste systems, and local housing. Or algorithmic transport optimisation, which may reduce delays and costs, but results in increased congestion on the streets. Faster access increases load – it does not protect the ecosystem that access depends on.
In other words, Bali has clear ecological and social limits but access and development expand faster than land-use discipline can absorb it. Technological efficiencies may improve short-term margins, but they also accelerate imbalance and risk. What is not recognised in these technological efficiencies are recovery cycles, cultural fatigue, or environmental thresholds. In destinations where nature and culture are the core assets, optimisation that ignores depletion is not innovation, it is value erosion.
This is where AI’s role in Bali must be redefined. Used correctly, AI should not push the system harder, it should help hold it in balance.
Predictive models can estimate daily and seasonal carrying capacity for specific beaches, temples, and districts, allowing access to be capped before congestion and environmental stress become irreversible. Mobility systems can use real-time data to trigger access restrictions rather than rerouting congestion through residential areas. Satellite imagery and sensor data can monitor land conversion, water extraction, and waste accumulation, enabling early intervention. AI can also support zoning and permit decisions by applying rules consistently and transparently, reducing discretionary approvals. In these roles, AI can protect Bali’s assets rather than monetising their exhaustion.
History offers a cautionary parallel. Organisations that grow rapidly by removing friction often collapse when internal systems and culture cannot sustain the pace. The failure is rarely technological. It is structural. Bali now faces a similar challenge as growth has outpaced institutional readiness.
When approached with clarity and restraint, AI can strengthen Bali as both a sustainable business environment and a sustainable destination. Used to protect carrying capacity, support consistent governance, and preserve the ecological and cultural foundations that make the island unique, AI can help ensure long-term value for communities, business owners and visitors alike. In this role, technology does not chase growth for its own sake. It supports wellbeing tourism, protects environmental balance, and reinforces the conditions that allow Bali to remain attractive, investable, and resilient.
Toronata Tambun is a researcher on innovation, culture, and systems design, and Director of Yayasan Mens et Manus; James Kallman is the CEO of Moores-Rowland Indonesia, a leading provider of audit and assurance, accounting, tax, legal, human rights and advisory services. moores-rowland.com
