Localisation key to unlocking Sri Lanka's Al potential: Dr. Ranawana

DIALOG Axiata Group Chief Analytics and AI Officer Dr. Romesh Ranawana on Monday said Sri Lanka's artificial intelligence (AI) adoption remains far behind global peers, largely due to the lack of localisation in language and cultural context.

- BY CHARUMINI DE SILVA

Sharing insights during a panel at the two-day conference spearheaded by the Digital Economy Ministry in collaboration with SLTMobitel, he highlighted the stark localisation gap with other countries. Dr. Ranawana noted that while 50-60% of people in countries such as the US, Canada and Singapore use generative AI tools like ChatGPT at least two or three times a week, Sri Lanka's usage is low at just 5%. "The contrast with India is striking. Adoption there is already at 50-60%, driven by strong localisation efforts," he observed.