- Researchers used AI to reconstruct a lost 1945 independence proclamation linked to Sutan Sjahrir and read in Cirebon.
- Eight AI models analyzed Sjahrir’s writings and historical data to identify themes and language likely present in the missing document.
- The reconstruction, using period-accurate spelling, highlights the lesser-known struggle for independence in Cirebon before the national declaration.
- AMSI produced the hypothetical text to spark historical inquiry rather than claiming it is the authentic original document.
Jakarta, Indonesia: A long-lost proclamation believed to have been linked to Indonesian independence leader Sutan Sjahrir has been given a new lease of life through artificial intelligence, with researchers attempting to piece together what the missing document may have said.
The text was reportedly read by Dr. Soedarsono in Cirebon, West Java, on August 15, 1945, just two days before Indonesia declared independence in Jakarta. The original document, however, has never been found, leaving historians without its exact wording.
The Angkatan Muda Sosialis Indonesia (AMSI) has now produced a hypothetical reconstruction by comparing Sjahrir’s known writings and political ideas with historical records. The group used eight AI models, including ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, DeepSeek, Perplexity, Qwen, Manus and Grok, to identify language and themes that might have appeared in the lost text.
AMSI said the exercise is not an attempt to present the reconstructed version as the original document. Rather, it is intended to offer a possible picture of the ideas and language that may have shaped the text in the tense days leading up to Indonesia’s independence.
The reconstructed version was also checked against historical sources and presented using the Van Ophuijsen spelling system, which was commonly used in Indonesia in 1945.
The project has renewed attention on the events in Cirebon, which form a lesser-known part of the story of Indonesia’s struggle for independence. AMSI said it hopes the reconstruction will encourage historians, researchers and the public to look more closely at these historical episodes and the different voices that shaped Indonesia’s independence movement.
