On the Ground at the National AI Expo & Conference: Key Announcements & Day 1 Learnings
On the Ground at the National AI Expo & Conference: Key Announcements & Day 1 Learnings
The opening day of the National AI Expo & Conference 2025 at the Monarch Imperial, Colombo not only unveiled landmark commitments but also offered deep reflections on how Sri Lanka should approach its AI journey.
Key Announcements
Google’s Commitment: Deputy Minister of Digital Economy, Hon. Eng. Eranga Weeraratne, confirmed that Google will provide its most advanced Google Gemini tools free of charge to Sri Lankan students — a move that democratizes access to cutting-edge AI learning.
Localisation First: Speakers reinforced that localising AI applications — tailoring them to Sri Lankan languages, contexts, and needs — is the most critical factor in ensuring adoption and impact.
AI as Strategy, Not Just Technology: As Mr. Vijai Karthigesu emphasized, “AI is not a technology. It’s a strategic, transformative business process equipped with a set of tools.”
- SLT-MOBITEL’s Commitment: Group Chairman and Senior Management team emphasised that group is evolving from ‘Connectivity to Intelligence’ to Power Sri Lanka’s AI Future”
Day 1 Learnings: The Human Side of AI
The first sessions stressed a fundamental truth: technology alone is not enough.
20% Systems, 80% People: AI transformation is less about software and more about how people and processes adapt. When the human side is forgotten, 90% of tech implementations fail.
Sri Lanka’s Adoption Gap: AI usage in Sri Lanka remains at 5%, compared to nearly 50% in developed markets. Bridging this gap requires localisation and a focus on real value creation rather than hype.
Depth Before Scale: Without depth — skills, governance, and process — AI rollouts risk collapsing under their own hype.
Think Ahead: Organizations must anticipate operational challenges; otherwise, scaling AI could turn into operational “nightmares.”
National Dataset Building: Creating localized, Sri Lanka-specific datasets and large language models is vital to unlocking real AI progress.
Towards a Growth Engine
Day 1 also highlighted the economic potential: AI could contribute up to 12% of Sri Lanka’s economy by 2030 if adoption is properly localized, governed, and scaled.
One speaker captured it simply: “Technology is the console, but people, data, and process are the real game.”
Building a National Ecosystem
The conference also set direction for the future:
A National AI Centre in Colombo, supported by regional AI hubs, to ensure problem-solving is localized for each province.
A clear focus on AI Glocalisation — merging global AI advances with Sri Lankan cultural, economic, and social realities.
Recognition that intelligence is now on tap: AI can deliver the exact outcome reports humans need, but must be aligned with national values and ethics.
From Connectivity to Intelligence — SLT-MOBITEL Shapes the AI Era in Sri Lanka
As Sri Lanka’s national ICT leader, SLT-MOBITEL has long been the trusted backbone of connectivity—bridging people, businesses, and communities through world-class broadband and digital infrastructure. Today, in line with the vision of the National AI Expo & Conference, we are evolving beyond connectivity to intelligence, harnessing Artificial Intelligence to localise solutions, drive economic growth, and empower every citizen.
This theme reflects our journey from enabling access to enabling intelligence—where high-speed networks, cloud platforms, and AI-driven, culture-fit applications converge to unlock innovation, inclusivity, and sustainable progress.
By shaping the AI era in Sri Lanka, SLT-MOBITEL is not only future-proofing the nation’s digital ecosystem but also helping to build smarter, more compassionate, and locally relevant AI solutions—ensuring that no community is left behind as Sri Lanka charts its AI-powered future.
Day 1 at the AI Expo showed that Sri Lanka’s AI journey will not just be about machines — it will be about people, culture, and context. The road ahead lies in localising AI to create tools that are intelligent, compassionate, and transformative.
By Author, Admin, Niroshana De Silva. You can reach him at prminds@gmail.com
