May 1, 2023
1 min read

Lanka to tap AI

Lanka President directed formation of a presidential task force comprising AI experts and prepare a concept paper to promote AI usage as done India and Singapore…reports Susitha Fernando

Sri Lanka President Ranil Wickremesinghe on Sunday urged IT experts in the island nation to promote Artificial Intelligence (AI) technology, taking India and Sri Lanka as models.

He directed formation of a presidential task force comprising AI experts and prepare a concept paper to promote AI usage as done in the two Asian nations.

artificial intelligence.(photo:Pixabay.com)

“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,” Wickremesinghe said.

The Sri Lankan President said the country is aiming to create a digital economy and to meet the demands of the digital age, aiming to produce 10,000 engineers annually instead of present number 2, 500. He also highlighted the potential of AI in various fields, including agriculture, education, health, fisheries, and industry.

“We have identified the modernisation 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.”

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

He invited the private sector to join in the effort and said that the government plans to allocate Rs one billion for AI technology next year.

ALSO READ: SPECIAL: Sri Lanka’s Monkey Business with China

Previous Story

Elite capture behind the chaos in Sudan

Next Story

WhatsApp rolling out ‘side-by-side’ feature on Android tablets

Latest from -Top News

Trump unhappy with deadly strikes on Kyiv 

The president said he is “putting a lot of pressure” on both sides to end the war in Ukraine, following the deadliest attacks Kyiv has seen since last July  President Donald Trump

Macron: ‘We Stand with India’

Macron said that France will stand together with its allies and would continue the fight against terrorism wherever necessary….reports Asian Lite News French President Emmanuel Macron on Friday spoke to Prime Minister

Pakistan Slams IWT Move as ‘Act of War’

Islamabad also said that India’s decision to suspend the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT) will be considered as an “act of war”…reports Asian Lite News The high-level emergency meeting of Pakistan’s National Security

Modi: We’ll Hunt Them Down

The Prime Minister thanked nations that extended support to India in the aftermath of the terror attack…reports Asian Lite News In his first address after the horrific terror attack in Pahalgam, Jammu
Go toTop

Don't Miss

Fuel quota up in Lanka

The decision was taken after evaluating fuel stocks and needs….reports

Prepare for the worst, Lankan PM tells people

The Sri Lankan PM also said that he did not