By Duruthu Edirimuni Chandrasekera

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is the most talked about two-letter word in the world and will lead the fourth industrial revolution.

A strong governance framework, onboarding the government sector, strong public-private partnerships (PPPs) with multinational corporations (MNCs), and re-skilling youth will be critical components of Sri Lanka’s AI journey, top experts said.

Despite Sri Lanka being at its nascent stages in artificial intelligence, the country is ready for the long haul, and it is the very reason that a good governance framework in this regard is important, Vinod Samarawickrama, Co-Funder and Director - Jendo Innovations Pvt Ltd. told The Sunday Times Business recently. “Sri Lanka is at the initial stages, but we haven’t missed the bus. It is the right time to engage AI.”

He said the current Data Protection Act is a good start, but it is important to build on it. Amongst the challenges in implementing AI, he counted strong PPPs with strong MNC backing as important. “There are many telcos that are implementing data centres, and we need to partner with immense ease to implement AI here. Rather than reinventing the wheel, we can bring in what these corporations have done already elsewhere,” he explained. He emphasised retaining and building talent in the country. “It is important to build talent and retain the talent in the country. We need to implement programmes to re-skill those whose jobs may be obsolete after AI. It is also important to bring AI into the school curriculum.”

He noted that Sri Lanka should emulate countries like the US, Korea, and Singapore which have already implemented these successfully and getting the private sector along with the public sector to get involved in this process. “The challenges for us in implementing AI remain in the form of quicker data and faster Internet. It is important to get this infrastructure and the country’s digitalisation intact.” He also noted that the Singapore government has set aside US $1 billion for artificial intelligence implementation. “Half of it goes to enhancing infrastructure while the other half is to upskill.”

Mr. Samarawickrama pointed out that the country needs to identify areas that can be automated to reduce wastage and reduce labour costs. “We can do more strategic things while implementing AI to do mundane tasks. Implementing AI will bring you ways of doing things. Both public and private sector can optimise sourcing and costs.”