On two occasions I have been asked [by members of Parliament], “Pray, Mr. Babbage, if you put into the machine wrong figures, will the right answers come out?” I am not able rightly to apprehend the kind of confusion of ideas that could provoke such a question. 

— Charles Babbage, Passages from the Life of a Philosopher (1864), Chap. 5, 59.

We live in a society where machines, algorithms and humans intertwine; where the “consensual hallucination” of cyberspace is no longer a separate part of our lives, but a swamp through which we wade, leaving data trails for the world to see; where the wrong people put the wrong figures into the wrong machines and wonder why the answer isn’t right. Terms like “Big Data” and “AI” have become Rorschach blots on the public consciousness

LIRNEasia’s role is to participate in the public policy dialogue around our algorithmically-inclined society with critical research and technical expertise. Since 2013, as cross-disciplinary team of data scientists, lawyers, and social scientists, we have conducted our own analyses, engaged deeply with policy makers and with private, data-heavy organizations.

Documents

• Use of online job portal data in research and in practice: A review

  Last year we conducted research to explore the possibility of leveraging online job portal data for economic analysis in 13 Asia Pacific countries, as a part of a project for the Asian Development Bank. We examined the types of information available on major portals across the region, to discern the nature and format of available data. We also tested and refined methodologies to analyse a dataset comprising online job vacancies sourced from a Sri Lankan job portal, to demonstrate use cases for exploring  the impacts of shocks on the labour market. The first step in this exploration was to review where in practice online job portal data has been used, to identify the  methods and techniques available along with their strengths and limitations.  The full review is published below. It covers the following key areas: Existing uses and applications of online job portal (OJP) data been used for labor market analysis. Limitations and challenges of using OJPs and existing ways of addressing them. Other data sources that complement OJP data. Processing steps, methods, and techniques used in collecting and processing OJP data prior to analysis.

• Data science for social good

  On 2nd October 2023, Research Manager and Team Lead (Data, Algorithms, and Policy) Merl Chandana, alongside Junior Researcher Chanuka Algama, held a session titled ‘Applied data science research for social good’ at the University of Kelaniya’s Department of Statistics and Computer Science. The session delved into LIRNEasia’s journey of forming a data science team and using large datasets to yield critical insights for public policy. They contrasted LIRNEasia’s applied data science approach with traditional academic research and private sector practices. Additionally, they highlighted the emerging ‘AI for Social Good’ movement and its potential as a career avenue. The slides used can be accessed below.

• DRAFT: Using mobile call detail records (CDRs) and remote sensing data for spatial mapping of poverty

  By employing unsupervised and supervised machine learning techniques, we explore the feasibility of utilizing mobile call detail records (CDRs) as well as geographic information system (GIS) and remote sensing (RS) data to map poverty spatially

• (Discussion Paper) Towards a Realistic AI Policy for Sri Lanka

  Many countries around the world have adopted artificial intelligence (AI) polices. However, Sri Lanka is yet to adopt one. This discussion paper considers factors that may be taken into account if an AI policy were to be drafted in Sri Lanka.

• (Policy Brief) Sri Lanka’s Open Data Portal

  This policy brief looks at the current status of Sri Lanka’s Open Data Portal, and what may be done to improve it. 

• Data science research in Sri Lanka: Human resource challenges and prospects

  Keynote presentation for South Eastern University, 10th Annual Science Research Sessions 2021, 30 November 2021 – by Rohan Samarajiva, LIRNEasia

• Misinformation in Bangladesh: A Brief Primer

  Over the past decade, both internet penetration and digital media user base have increased substantially.

• A Corpus and Machine Learning Models for Fake News Classification in Bengali

  We present a dataset consisting of 3468 documents in Bengali, drawn from Bangladeshi news websites and factchecking operations, annotated as CREDIBLE, FALSE, PARTIAL or UN-CERTAIN. The dataset has markers for the content of the document, the classification, the web domain from which each document was retrieved, and the date on which the document was published. We also present the results of misinformation classification models built for the Bengali language, as well as comparisons to prior work in English and Sinhala.

More Documents →

Events

• Exploring AI’s transformative potential: LIRNEasia launches ‘AI for Social Good’ workshop series
  LIRNEasia concluded its first workshop (30 March, 24’), its first and part of a larger series of initiatives on ‘Artificial Intelligence for Social Good’; intended to raise interest and awareness on the potential of AI to benefit society at large.
• Data science for social good
  On 2nd October 2023, Research Manager and Team Lead (Data, Algorithms, and Policy) Merl Chandana, alongside Junior Researcher Chanuka Algama, held a session titled ‘Applied data science research for social good’ at the University of Kelaniya’s Department of Statistics and Computer Science.
• LIRNEasia CEO at event on “Democracy in the Digital Age: How Canada Advances Internet Freedom for All”
  Helani Galpaya spoke on the information disorder at the panel discussion titled “Democracy in the Digital Age: How Canada Advances Internet Freedom for All," organised by Global Affairs Canada (GAC) and the International Development Research Center (IDRC).
• CPM’s 26th webinar on ‘Safety of information in a technically driven world’
  The Institute of Chartered Professional Managers of Sri Lanka’s (CPM Sri Lanka) 26th Webinar was held on the 27th of August 2021 with a focus on the ‘Safety of information in a technically driven world’ a timely subject of cyber security.
• (Presentation) Risk Communication in a Pandemic: Preliminary findings from the Asia Pacific
  Rohan Samarajiva and Ramathi Bandaranayake presented preliminary findings from our work on risk communication during COVID-19.

More Events →

People

Arthit Suriyawongkul

Pirongrong Ramasoota

Kasun Amarasinghe

Dimuthu Attanayake

Ashwini Natesan

Ayumi Arai

Nisansa de Silva

Danaja Maldeniya

Gabriel Kreindler

Lasantha Fernando

Merl Chandana

Ramathi Bandaranayake

Shazna Zuhyle

Viren Dias

Chathurike ‘CD’ Athuraliya

Yudhanjaya Wijeratne

Yuhei Miyauchi

Blogs and Updates

• Software failures and public funds: Monumental coding errors explained
  In the world of technology, programming errors—whether stemming from minor oversights or fundamental misunderstandings—can have catastrophic consequences.
• How will AI shape the upcoming presidential election in Sri Lanka?
  How will AI shape our upcoming presidential election?
• LIRNEasia Junior Researcher Chanuka Algama shares cutting-edge research on Conversational RAG at ICIIT Conclave 2024
  The Annual International Conference on Innovations in Infobusiness & Technology (ICIIT), organised by the Informatics Institute of Technology, took place on May 30-31, 2024, rebranded as ICIIT Conclave 2024.
• ඒ.අයි.වලින් වැඩක් නොගන්නේ ඇයි?: ලර්න් ඒෂියාහි මර්ල් චන්දන මව්බිම පුවත්පත සමඟ කළ සාකච්ඡාව
    කෘත්‍රිම බුද්ධිය ලෙසින් පොදු සමාජය බැලූ බැල්මට හ¾දුනා ගන්නේ සංවර්ධිත රටවල දියුණුවේ අග්‍රඵලයකි.
• The Global Index on Responsible AI: Promoting responsible AI practices worldwide
  In the rapidly evolving world of Artificial Intelligence (AI), it is important to ensure that society continues to reap its benefits without being subject to its many harms.
• The paradoxes and plays of symbolic computation
  Before we dive into natural language understanding, the theory, and its applications–it is important from a pedagogical perspective that we understand the historical trajectory of the ideas that led us there.
• Exploring AI’s transformative potential: LIRNEasia launches ‘AI for Social Good’ workshop series
  LIRNEasia concluded its first workshop (30 March, 24’), its first and part of a larger series of initiatives on ‘Artificial Intelligence for Social Good’; intended to raise interest and awareness on the potential of AI to benefit society at large.
• Use of online job portal data in research and in practice: A review
  Last year we conducted research to explore the possibility of leveraging online job portal data for economic analysis in 13 Asia Pacific countries, as a part of a project for the Asian Development Bank.
• Data science for social good
  On 2nd October 2023, Research Manager and Team Lead (Data, Algorithms, and Policy) Merl Chandana, alongside Junior Researcher Chanuka Algama, held a session titled ‘Applied data science research for social good’ at the University of Kelaniya’s Department of Statistics and Computer Science.
• DRAFT: Using mobile call detail records (CDRs) and remote sensing data for spatial mapping of poverty
  By employing unsupervised and supervised machine learning techniques, we explore the feasibility of utilizing mobile call detail records (CDRs) as well as geographic information system (GIS) and remote sensing (RS) data to map poverty spatially
• LIRNEasia CEO at event on “Democracy in the Digital Age: How Canada Advances Internet Freedom for All”
  Helani Galpaya spoke on the information disorder at the panel discussion titled “Democracy in the Digital Age: How Canada Advances Internet Freedom for All," organised by Global Affairs Canada (GAC) and the International Development Research Center (IDRC).
• The Beginnings of AI and Data Governance: The Landscape in Sri Lanka
  Digital Futures Lab, in partnership with the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung, recently published an edited volume on the ethics and governance of AI in Asia.
• Global Data Barometer Survey Published
  LIRNEasia's Ramathi Bandaranayake conducted the research for Sri Lanka as part of the Global Data Barometer Survey, the results of which are now public.
• Effect of Govt.’s first attempt to regulate social media content
  The keys to understanding the effect of the regulation are the definitions of the word and phrases “rumour,” “false statement,” and “any information or image or message which is likely to cause public alarm, public disorder or racial violence or which is likely to incite the committing of an offence.
• Personal Data Protection Act passed: What will it mean?
  Data protection is considered an esoteric subject, but affects the entirety of the modern economy, ranging from a home-based cake supplier who maintains a list of customers, their preferences and contacts, to a multinational insurance company.
• Towards a Better Understanding of Sri Lankan Cities Using Satellite Imagery
  Homagama, a town in the Colombo District in Sri Lanka, is officially classified as a rural area.
More Posts →