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UNDP begins Sri Lanka AI readiness assessment
View(s):By Tharushi Weerasinghe
An Artificial Intelligence Readiness assessment was launched by the Government of Sri Lanka in collaboration with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) at the end of last month.
A committee appointed by the government, operating under the Presidential Secretariat, is spearheading the formulation of Sri Lanka’s AI strategy. The UNDP in Sri Lanka, a member of this committee, has initiated the AI Readiness Assessment (AIRA) as a step in this process. Developed by UNDP, AIRA is a tool designed to evaluate the existing AI landscape in Sri Lanka and contribute insights for the AI strategy.
Kanaka Herath
This assessment includes a comprehensive survey targeting the public sector and key informant interviews with individuals from non-governmental sectors, such as academia, development partners, and the private sector. The culmination of these efforts is intended to shape Sri Lanka’s AI strategy in the coming year.
To launch the assessment and to carry out the key informant interviews, a mission from UNDP’s Chief Digital Office (CDO) was carried out during October. During this mission, experts from UNDP’s CDO conducted interviews with key stakeholders to understand the AI and digital transformation landscape of Sri Lanka.
A workshop attended by more than 80 public sector officials representing numerous ministries and departments was also organised and facilitated by UNDP to launch the survey component of the AIRA.
“We have already established the AI committee to formulate the National AI Strategy. AIRA will help us assess where we are as a country today to secure the benefits of AI and support the formulation of the foundation for strategy. Towards the end of this assessment, we should have data points on the AI policy and strategy based on key priorities such as focus areas, and foundational building blocks including data, infrastructure, and skills,” State Minister of Technology Kanaka Herath said.
Speaking at the workshop, UNDP Sri Lanka Deputy Resident Representative Malin Herwig noted that “AI can help us improve public services, boost economic growth, and create new jobs. But in order to reap the benefits of AI, we need to be prepared. This will help us identify the areas where we need to invest and develop a plan to utilise AI to its maximum potential, while, most importantly, bearing in mind the ethical use of AI.”
Malin Herwig
The rise of artificial intelligence tools worldwide has been a topic of controversy with the technology coming under fire from creative professionals like writers and artists who claim that AI encourages the intellectual property theft of their work to produce content without crediting the original creator.
However, it has helped many economies as industries integrate AI technology to more of their processes.
In May this year, Sri Lanka’s Education Ministry revealed plans to incorporate artificial intelligence (AI) into the school curriculum by 2024, focusing on areas such as robotics, machine learning, data mining, computer vision, and related technologies.
Ministry officials like Sunil Jayantha Nawarathna, the Director General of the National Institute of Education, indicated that these subjects should be introduced to students in Grades 6 to 13 based on their proficiency levels. The plan also includes encouraging students to utilise tools like ChatGPT and Google Bard to augment their understanding of various subjects.
Education Minister Susil Premajayantha who initially noted that the integration of AI into the school curriculum was part of an effort to elevate the nation’s education standards to international levels. Officials noted that AI will be employed in teaching Science and Information Technology (IT) starting next year, emphasising the potential of AI to enhance Sri Lanka’s education system.
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