To support its digital transformation strategies this year, the Government has allocated Rs. 3 billion, central to its aim of reaching $ 15 billion in digital economy revenue by 2030.
Artificial Intelligence (AI) adoption is a critical component in this. However, with rapid AI evolution, Sri Lanka’s readiness and a comprehensive regulatory landscape emerge as key requirements.
In light of this, Sri Lanka has established an AI Advisory Committee, tasked with providing strategic guidance and operational support while overseeing the formulation and execution of AI policies.
Paving the way for a regulatory roadmap
Speaking to The Sunday Morning, AI Advisory Committee Chairman and Dialog Axiata Group Chief Analytics and AI Officer Dr. Romesh Ranawana explained how Sri Lanka was preparing for AI.
He noted that the AI Advisory Committee was already in the process of executing a national AI strategy under Chief Adviser to the President on Digital Economy Dr. Hans Wijayasuriya, closely aligned with the digital economy work undertaken by the latter.
“One of the pillars that we currently have within the advisory board is the regulatory aspect, looking at the regulatory roadmap in the years to come. Over the next two to three months, we will be producing a white paper, which will look at the regulatory roadmap,” Dr. Ranawana said.
Elaborating on the white paper, he noted several aspects that would be looked at under this. These include the laws that already exist which offer protection, such as the Personal Data Protection Act, as well as the areas that remain unaddressed in the existing regulatory framework. He noted that the committee would formulate proposals on how to address these.
“After this process, we hope to put this white paper out for public discussion and deliberation, followed by finalisation. This would potentially become the official policy of the Government in relation to how regulation is addressed. We are in the initial stages, but the existing laws already cover several aspects, and it is required to conduct a study on what other fields need to be addressed, as well as what is not covered or only partially covered,” he added.
Regarding the main body that would be in charge of AI, Dr. Ranawana noted that the current official body was the AI Advisory Committee. However, he added that with the Information and Communication Technology Agency (ICTA) changing, the committee should be transformed to a new execution setup.
SL experiencing significant progress
Speaking to The Sunday Morning, former Chairman of the Federation of Information Technology Industry Sri Lanka (FITIS) Indika De Zoysa highlighted that an established AI task force was engaged in developing the policy environment, given that the foundational step should involve laying the policy groundwork. He added that a policy framework was currently in place.
“The rest of the equation, including the Personal Data Protection Act and the Cyber Security Bill that is being put in place, are all interconnected. In terms of AI policy in particular, Sri Lanka is close to establishing it and the framework is ready. Concerns such as the ethical use of AI will be incorporated into the framework as well,” he said.
De Zoysa noted that following the framework’s establishment, it was essential to ensure the proper utilisation and adoption of AI, specifically across areas such as Government usage, education purposes, healthcare, and citizen services. He added that this enabling process was already being undertaken from a technological standpoint as well.
Commenting on adoption across industry, Government, and the public, De Zoysa explained that Sri Lanka was experiencing significant progress, particularly in industry adoption, in line with global trends. He elaborated that adoption would take place in avenues such as customer service, data gathering, decision-making, and more.
According to De Zoysa, a substantial portion of resources, infrastructure, and technology required to advance AI are already available within the country.
“The Government is also increasingly and strategically adopting AI. For instance, Sri Lanka faces a shortage in science and maths teachers in particular, for which AI bots can be used to bridge the gap. These aspects and how AI can be employed to increase productivity have already been explored beyond the tech sector, extending even into the manufacturing industry,” he said.
As the AI landscape progresses at a tremendous pace, cybersecurity and preventive mechanisms also emerge as significant concerns.
De Zoysa addressed these concerns, noting that the enabling of the policy framework, supportive legislature, a strengthened Sri Lanka Computer Emergency Readiness Team (SLCERT), and the Data Protection Authority were key in managing these matters.
He added that these fundamental structures had already been established within the country and the regulatory and policy framework were already in place, thereby creating a conducive environment for all stakeholders, including the corporate and Government sectors as well as individual users, to deploy AI.
Measuring AI literacy critical
Digital Trust Alliance Vice President Asela Waidyalankara noted that with an advisory committee established to provide recommendations for regulations, the current landscape remained progressive. However, he stated that when compared with the rest of the Asian region, Sri Lanka was well behind.
“Sri Lanka must first identify and measure AI literacy within the country, which is essentially the ability to work with AI tools, particularly if AI is to be introduced to the public sector. There is an AI divide within the country and therefore it is important to establish a baseline literacy level,” he said.
Secondly, according to Waidyalankara, it is important that Sri Lanka identifies the philosophy of what the country expects from AI in a timely manner and adopt an approach suitable for the country by implementing required strategies.
“AI should be used to achieve the country’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and other developmental goals. In this sense, it is important to identify the key sectors AI will transform. These could include agriculture, education, tourism, and Government services, since Sri Lanka lacks resources to afford focusing on every aspect,” he said.
He noted that when it came to agriculture, it would be possible to look at AI-based services that could be made accessible to farmers, including areas such as weather forecasting, seasonal crop management, or early detection of pests and diseases.
“The ICT sector must be looked at as well, making the decision to facilitate companies engaged in AI if necessary, in order to develop technical infrastructure,” he asserted.
Waidyalankara also pointed to the need to look at Sri Lanka’s AI pipeline, as AI integration required AI graduates and a steady stream of AI talent entering the ecosystem that understood areas such as AI system development, data architecture, and data science. He added that Sri Lanka must formulate a plan to cultivate such talent.
Cultivating AI talent
As highlighted, cultivating an intellectual community of AI expertise is critical alongside adoption.
Computer Society of Sri Lanka (CSSL) President and University of Colombo School of Computing Senior Lecturer Dr. Ajantha Atukorale elaborated on Sri Lanka’s AI talent, noting that with AI still being in its early stages, this may not be the right time to implement undergraduate AI degree programmes.
Instead, he suggested that master’s level programmes would be more appropriate, given that candidates would have a sound background in the main categories, which include computing, computer science, information systems, ICT, software, or computer engineering.
“Sri Lanka currently has quite a number of AI master’s programmes. AI could be integrated as a component in academic programmes as well, regardless of the specific discipline. Also, some institutions may offer AI as a discipline at different academic levels. However, it is my understanding that the fundamentals of computing are essential before proceeding to teaching AI as a specific science,” he said.
He also noted that AI progression had been rapid in the last few years. Accordingly, he explained that along with this growth, several changes would happen in the future, particularly in the academic landscape, with even areas such as software and development exploring automated processes. Hence, he noted the need for each discipline to learn AI usage.
Regarding AI-related opportunities within the country, Dr. Atukorale noted that there would be various emerging opportunities which would open many employment vacancies, and that various future work fields would require using AI properly with a competitive advantage.
Significance of digitalisation
Meanwhile, speaking to The Sunday Morning, digital transformation specialist Dr. Sankalpa Gamwarige explained that it was first important to achieve digitalisation within the country.
“Without proper digital connectivity, adopting AI is not possible and there is much to be done in basic digitalisation. This remains the biggest challenge that must be tackled, since there are several factors that prevent the country from achieving this,” he said.
Dr. Gamwarige noted that digitalisation was a matter of continuous adaptation, requiring ongoing adoption, integration, and deployment. While discussing several challenges, he highlighted the crucial need to address the skill gap within the country as well.
Dr. Gamwarige explained that due to the global surge in demand within the digitalisation sector over the last few years, supply had also increased. As a result, he noted, an enormous number of fresh graduates were available in the market, who must be mentored and recruited.
“Sri Lanka must first address these foundational components effectively, as this is a continuously evolving equation. Another important aspect is the infrastructure required to operate these systems. Currently, Sri Lanka’s infrastructure cost remains quite high, given the need to purchase equipment, along with high operating costs,” he noted.
He further added that cloud-related requirements were another concern, with the need to retain data within the country. He noted that buying cloud services also presented its own challenges as many did not possess optimal bargaining power, due to the prices compounded by taxes and high operating costs. He emphasised that it was critical to establish a strategy to reduce these prices.
He also noted that with several open models and knowledge readily available in these processes, it was merely a matter of practical adaptation. Accordingly, the country needs to seek and adopt these, with a good practical understanding and a proper approach to investment, ensuring that digitalisation yields tangible results, which would contribute significantly to the economy.
Dr. Gamwarige explained that it was important to find affordable, cost-effective methods to acquire the necessary resources, and even to leverage and experiment with pilot programmes where needed. Accordingly, he noted that Sri Lanka could also negotiate with technology providers, for instance, requesting a reduction in the cost of cloud technology services.
He emphasised that digital infrastructure should be made accessible at affordable prices. Hence, achieving cost-effective digitalisation and ensuring it yields measurable results would empower even companies to invest more significantly.
“Once these resources are secured at affordable prices and begin to yield tangible results, they will significantly improve our digital economy, thereby generating capital that can be reinvested for further development.”
Addressing AI adaptation, Dr. Gamwarige stated that it was important to optimise processes and perform fine-tuning where necessary, thereby encouraging further infrastructure development as well. He emphasised that while generative AI adoption was important, digitalisation had to be achieved first.