Government to allocate Rs. 1 billion for AI technology next year

The government is to allocate Rs. 1 billion for Artificial Intelligence (AI) technology next year, President Ranil Wickremesinghe said.

President Wickremesinghe commented on the potential for Artificial Intelligence technology to contribute to the country’s development.

He instructed officials from the Ministry of Technology to form a presidential task force comprising AI experts and prepare a concept paper to promote AI usage in the country. The President highlighted the potential of Artificial Intelligence in various fields, including agriculture, education, health, fisheries, and industry.

The President noted that the current annual contribution to Sri Lanka’s gross national income through computer and information technology is around USD 1.9 billion, with no known amount from AI technology. He instructed officials to develop a system to track AI contributions. Additionally, he stressed the importance of taking prompt action to increase AI’s contribution to the gross domestic product in the coming years.

?We have identified the modernization of agriculture and fisheries, tourism, and improvement of supply centres as urgent areas for development in our economic reforms. Additionally, we have placed a greater focus on the technology industry. As we see the world progressing with artificial intelligence, it is crucial for Sri Lanka to focus on this technology and invest in it. The private sector needs to be involved in this initiative,” the President said at a meeting.

The President said that the Government is?aiming to create a digital economy and it will require a lot of effort in the coming months.

“When it comes to artificial intelligence, we should consider Singapore and India as role models. It is true that East Asia, South Korea, Japan, and China are making progress in artificial intelligence, but no country in West Asia has reached that stage yet. This presents a clear opportunity for us, and we must have strategies in place to implement this program promptly. In order to achieve this, we should start by improving university research departments,? he said.

During the discussion on the integration of AI technology into the wider model of digitization in Sri Lanka, the Minister of State for Technology, Kanaka Herath, and the Secretary of the Ministry, Niranjan Gunawardena, a Senior Professor, shared their views. (Colombo Gazette)