Artificial intelligence (AI) offers significant potential to enhance public services and drive innovation within Sri Lanka’s public sector. At the AI Asia Summit 2024 in Colombo, Merl Chandana, Research Manager and head of the Data, Algorithms, and Policy (DAP) team at LIRNEasia, shared insights on how the government can harness AI effectively and responsibly. Speaking on a panel titled “AI for National Economic Growth and Innovation: enhancing services and driving efficiency,” Merl outlined key considerations for adopting AI in ways that truly benefit citizens. Practical steps for AI adoption in public services Merl emphasized that while AI offers vast possibilities, public sector adoption must be both strategic and phased. After highlighting a few ongoing AI pilot initiatives in Sri Lanka’s public sector, he noted that these projects often begin with a strong data foundation and empowered decision-makers with deep expertise in their fields. 
Artificial intelligence (AI) offers significant potential to enhance public services and drive innovation within Sri Lanka’s public sector. At the AI Asia Summit 2024 in Colombo, Merl Chandana, Research Manager and head of the Data, Algorithms, and Policy (DAP) team at LIRNEasia, shared insights on how the government can harness AI effectively and responsibly. Speaking on a panel titled “AI for National Economic Growth and Innovation: enhancing services and driving efficiency,” Merl outlined key considerations for adopting AI in ways that truly benefit citizens. Practical steps for AI adoption in public services Merl emphasized that while AI offers vast possibilities, public sector adoption must be both strategic and phased. After highlighting a few ongoing AI pilot initiatives in Sri Lanka’s public sector, he noted that these projects often begin with a strong data foundation and empowered decision-makers with deep expertise in their fields. 
How will AI shape our upcoming presidential election? Can AI-generated fake audio mislead voters? Is AI a threat to election integrity? In an article in the Sunday Times, Sri Lanka, LIRNEasia’s Research Manager and Team Lead: Data, Algorithms, & Policy Merl Chandana highlighted these concerns and emphasised the need to address AI’s potential to create misleading and harmful content. He told the Sunday Times: “AI can generate text, video, audio, and photos. 
කෘත්‍රිම බුද්ධිය ලෙසින් පොදු සමාජය බැලූ බැල්මට හ¾දුනා ගන්නේ සංවර්ධිත රටවල දියුණුවේ අග්‍රඵලයකි. එහෙත් ආර්ථික අර්බුදයක කරවටක් ගිලුණු ශ්‍රී ලංකාව වැනි රටකට කෘත්‍රිම බුද්ධියෙන් ළඟා කරගත හැකි වාසි සුළුපටු නොවේ. මේ, ඒ සම්බන්ධයෙන් ලංකාවේ කෘත්‍රිම බුද්ධිය ප්‍රවර්ධනයට රාජ්‍යමය මැදිහත්වීමේ කොටස්කරුවකු වන ලර්න් ඒෂියා ආයතනයේ දත්ත විද්‍යා කණ්ඩායම් ප්‍රධානි මර්ල් චන්දන මහතා සමඟ කළ සාකච්ඡාවකි. කෘත්‍රිම බුද්ධිය ගැන සරල තාක්ෂණික නිර්වචනයකින් අපි කතාව පටන්ගමු? කෘත්‍රිම බුද්ධිය ගැන නිර්වචනයක් විදිහට ගත්තොත් කාටත් තේරෙන විදිහට මිනිස් මොළය පාවිච්චි කර කරන ක්‍රියාකාරකම් පරිගණක හරහා කෙරෙද්දී අපට ඒකට කෘත්‍රිම බුද්ධිය කියන්න පුළුවන්. 
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. The event featured a keynote speech by Dr. Romesh Ranawana, Chairman of the national AI strategy committee (Sri Lanka, 2024-28). Dr. Ranawana outlined Sri Lanka’s tactical roadmap for AI development, including its synergies with existing digital policies, the challenges still ahead. 
In a recent episode of “Samata IT” (IT for All) on Jathika Rupavahini, LIRNEasia’s Senior Research Manager and Data, Algorithm, and Policy Team Lead Merl Chandana shed light on the dynamic landscape of data science and how it offers ample opportunities for individuals from diverse backgrounds. “Data science is an evolving field which is still being developed. Therefore, there are not many seasoned experts in this filed, which means there is a significant scope for newcomers to make their mark,” Merl said. Contrary to conventional perceptions, he stressed that one doesn’t necessarily need prior experience in data science to pursue a career in the field. “What matters most is not the years of experience, but the willingness to learn.