Sri Lanka’s AI Pivot: Balancing Economic Gains with Existential Risks 📈

The global discourse on Artificial Intelligence is shifting from mere hype to critical evaluation, with experts warning of risks to human existence while Sri Lanka positions the tech as a core pillar for its 2030 digital economy. • Macro Strategy: Sri Lanka aims to grow its digital economy to US$ 15 Bn by 2030 (up from 3.5% to 15% of GDP). The 2026 Budget allocated Rs. 30 Bn to digitalization, focusing on Unique Digital Identity and public sector efficiency. • Sector Impact: • Agriculture: Adoption of AI-driven precision farming and drones in tea and rubber plantations is projected to increase yields by up to 30% by 2026. • ICT/BPM: The sector targets US$ 5 Bn in exports and a workforce of 200,000 by 2030, leveraging native language LLMs (Sinhala/Tamil). • Government: AI is being piloted for the Government Information Centre to automate citizen queries and administrative tasks. • Risk & Regulation: While "Godfathers of AI" like Geoffrey Hinton warn of a 10-20% chance of human extinction, Sri Lanka is prioritizing the Personal Data Protection Act (PDPA) and ethical frameworks to mitigate biometrics misuse and algorithmic bias. • Adoption Gap: Despite the strategy, local generative AI usage remains at 6.6%, trailing regional peers like India (15.7%) and Bangladesh (7.1%), highlighting a need for localized, affordable tools.