{"name":"Applied AI in Sri Lanka — the record","description":"Every announced initiative, deployment, published result and regulation of applied AI on the record for Sri Lanka, tagged by kind, industry, region and role, sourced and dated. A slice of the State of Applied AI record, maintained continuously by the Industrial Research Unit of the Straits Institute for Applied AI.","source":"https://www.straitsai.institute/state-of-applied-ai/sri-lanka","partOf":"https://www.straitsai.institute/state-of-applied-ai/evidence.json","attribution":"Industrial Research Unit, Straits Institute for Applied AI","updated":"2026-10-29","facet":{"kind":"country","name":"Sri Lanka","slug":"sri-lanka","iso2":"LK","region":"Asia-Pacific"},"counts":{"entries":22,"deployments":17,"evidenceImpact":0,"evidenceAdoption":2,"regulation":3,"industries":8,"countries":1,"linked":22},"entries":[{"kind":"deployment","industry":"Healthcare & Life Sciences","region":"Sri Lanka","role":"Patient services coordinator","org":"Kings Hospital Colombo","text":"Kings Hospital Colombo has opened what the hospital calls Sri Lanka's earliest hospital AI chatbot, fielding queries in ordinary speech at any hour. The patient-facing assistant covers appointments, consultants, channelling and checkups.","date":"2026-09-21","source":"https://www.lankabusinessnews.com/kings-hospital-colombo-launches-sri-lankas-first-ai-powered-hospital-chatbot/"},{"kind":"evidence-adoption","industry":"Government & Public Sector","region":"Sri Lanka","org":"Presidential Secretariat of Sri Lanka","text":"Fifteen officers from the Development Division of Sri Lanka's Presidential Secretariat finished AI governance training in South Korea, a 14-day programme built by the Korea International Cooperation Agency with Soongsil Cyber University. It sits inside a wider three-year scheme, \"AI-Based Civic Participation and Governance Strengthening,\" running to 2028, teaching basic AI and data concepts alongside governance diagnostics and action-plan work. Seoul visits let them see AI-driven public administration first-hand, and they left with 15 draft plans for bringing artificial intelligence into Sri Lankan civic engagement.","date":"2026-08-28","source":"https://www.asiae.co.kr/en/article/2026082813592564708"},{"kind":"deployment","industry":"Government & Public Sector","region":"Sri Lanka","role":"Tax auditor","org":"Inland Revenue Department (IRD)","text":"Sri Lanka's Inland Revenue Department has rolled out RAMIS 3.5, letting AI tax audits target returns by risk score instead of officer judgement. The Revenue Administration Management Information System now runs as an API-driven, real-time compliance engine, narrowing chances for corrupt interference and replacing risk-based audit selection once left to manual discretion. It is IMF-backed under the Medium-Term Revenue Strategy and links to compulsory real-time e-invoicing for VAT-registered firms.","date":"2026-08-23","source":"https://www.sundaytimes.lk/260823/business-times/tax-bet-tightens-as-sri-lanka-ramps-up-digital-enforcement-652875.html"},{"kind":"regulation","industry":"Government & Public Sector","region":"Sri Lanka","org":"Data Protection Authority (DPA)","text":"Sri Lanka now requires public sector data compliance before the Personal Data Protection Act's core provisions take effect on 1 January 2027. Circular No. 01/2026 tells ministries, departments, councils and state enterprises to name data protection officers, run protection programmes and audit personal data, replacing a 2024 version under the country's personal data protection regulation.","date":"2026-08-08","source":"https://adaderana.lk/news/cmsjsp2vt0005356q4pjfv4ih"},{"kind":"regulation","industry":"Legal & Professional Services","region":"Sri Lanka","org":"Bar Association of Sri Lanka (BASL)","text":"Sri Lanka's Bar Association has drafted rules for generative AI in legal practice, guiding lawyers who use such systems for research, drafting, case analysis and client contact. Confidentiality comes first: public AI platforms require lawyers to shield client data, stay answerable for AI-assisted output, and verify results before relying on them. Non-binding for now, the framework is billed as a living document set to evolve with the technology, an early marker of AI in the legal profession.","date":"2026-06-26","source":"https://lankalaw.net/2026/06/26/basl-unveils-draft-framework-on-the-use-of-generative-ai-in-legal-practice/"},{"kind":"deployment","industry":"Healthcare & Life Sciences","region":"Sri Lanka","role":"Radiologist","org":"National Hospital of Sri Lanka","text":"The National Hospital of Sri Lanka has added an AI MRI machine to patient care, the first in a government hospital nationwide, the Health Ministry says. Worth more than Rs. 450 million, the AI-equipped scanner serves the Emergency Treatment Unit and Neurosurgery Unit and was introduced under the patronage of Health Minister Nalinda Jayatissa.","date":"2026-03-09","source":"https://www.newswire.lk/2026/03/09/ai-enabled-mri-machine-installed-at-national-hospital-colombo/"},{"kind":"deployment","industry":"Government & Public Sector","region":"Sri Lanka","role":"Public information officer","org":"Ministry of Education, Higher Education and Vocational Education (Vocational Education Sector)","text":"Sri Lanka's Ministry of Education, Higher Education and Vocational Education has unveiled the country's first AI government service chatbot, built in-house by the Vocational Education Sector's ICT unit and wired into Hotline Service 1966. Vocational education questions now get answered 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, in Sinhala, Tamil, English and Singlish — an early instance of AI in public service delivery. Harini Amarasuriya opened it at Nipunatha Piyasa, Colombo.","date":"2025-11-06","source":"https://skillsmin.gov.lk/blog/2025/11/06/launch-of-sri-lankas-first-fully-ai-based-government-service-delivery-web-chatbot/"},{"kind":"deployment","industry":"Agriculture & Food","region":"Sri Lanka","role":"Coconut plantation manager","org":"National Livestock Development Board","text":"480,000 coconut palms at Adigama farm, Dambadeniya, are now being scanned from the air under a National Livestock Development Board pilot, Sri Lanka's first attempt at AI coconut plantation management. Camera-equipped drones judge each tree's condition and flag what fertiliser or treatment it lacks, replacing manual checks. Namal Karunaratna, Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Livestock, cut the ribbon on the drone-based crop health monitoring venture.","date":"2025-10-31","source":"https://www.itnnews.lk/2025/10/31/742297/"},{"kind":"deployment","industry":"Finance & Insurance","region":"Sri Lanka","role":"Insurance customer service agent","org":"HNB Assurance PLC","text":"HNB Assurance deployed HANA, an AI insurance chatbot for policy queries and claims. NLP and machine learning resolve complex requests and link to core systems, giving Sri Lankan customers 24/7 access via an always-on digital assistant.","date":"2025-10-02","source":"https://www.ft.lk/marketing/HNB-Assurance-elevates-customer-experience-with-next-generation-AI-powered-chatbot/54-782505"},{"kind":"deployment","industry":"Agriculture & Food","region":"Sri Lanka","role":"Farmer","org":"Dialog Axiata","text":"Farmers and home gardeners across Sri Lanka can now reach Govi Mithuru, Dialog Axiata's AI agriculture advisory service, through trilingual chat, voice interaction, photo-based pest detection, or a Sinhala-English call line at 616. All channels deliver expert-verified answers in Sinhala, Tamil and English, part of Dialog's latest step in AI-driven farming support.","date":"2025-09-26","source":"https://www.ft.lk/agriculture/Dialog-AI-Powers-Govi-Mithuru-Sri-Lanka-s-First-AI-Powered-Agriculture-Advisory-Platform/31-782214"},{"kind":"deployment","industry":"HR & People","region":"Sri Lanka","role":"Recruiter","org":"XpressJobs","text":"XpressJobs unveiled Sri Lanka's first AI-powered recruitment assistant, texting pre-matched candidates via WhatsApp, fielding thousands at once. Interaction hit 85% in John Keells Retail Sector's launch, an early sign of AI-powered hiring tools taking hold locally.","date":"2025-09-17","source":"https://www.newswire.lk/business/xpressjobs-launches-sri-lankas-first-ai-powered-whatsapp-recruitment-assistant/"},{"kind":"deployment","industry":"Government & Public Sector","region":"Sri Lanka","role":"Public information officer","org":"Government Information Centre (GIC), Government of Sri Lanka","text":"An AI voice system government pilot is coming to Sri Lanka's Government Information Centre (GIC), automating citizen replies, per Dr. Hans Wijayasuriya, Chief Advisor to the President on Digital Economy. He called it the opening phase of a broader AI-first push, ahead of automating routine state processes for AI-driven citizen information delivery.","date":"2025-07-30","source":"https://www.biometricupdate.com/202507/sri-lanka-developing-an-elaborate-ai-strategy-for-economic-expansion"},{"kind":"deployment","industry":"Healthcare & Life Sciences","region":"Sri Lanka","role":"Medical laboratory professional","org":"Forte Diagnostics","text":"Forte Diagnostics debuts an AI-powered medical diagnostics platform, Sri Lanka's first, made with India's Health Vectors. Bland text reports become live, personalised dashboards under this health data visualisation model.","date":"2025-07-24","source":"https://www.lankatalks.com/post/forte-diagnostics-and-health-vectors-partner-to-launch-sri-lanka-s-first-ai-powered-medical-diagnostics"},{"kind":"deployment","industry":"Finance & Insurance","region":"Sri Lanka","role":"Credit underwriter","org":"Commercial Bank of Ceylon","text":"Commercial Bank of Ceylon unveils Sri Lanka's first AI-powered SME credit underwriting system, engineered with a global consultancy. Predictive analytics now drive faster, tailored loan decisions for small firms, marking a fresh use of AI in commercial banking.","date":"2025-07-09","source":"https://www.combank.lk/news/news-events/combank-launches-sri-lankas-first-ai-powered-sme-credit-underwriting-solution"},{"kind":"deployment","industry":"Finance & Insurance","region":"Sri Lanka","role":"Insurance customer service representative","org":"HNB General Insurance","text":"HNBGI NEXA, an AI chatbot for insurance customer support, now runs on HNB General Insurance's site. Indian InsurTech firm AccelTree Software built it for round-the-clock routine queries, forwarding harder cases to the hotline.","date":"2025-07-03","source":"https://www.ft.lk/financial-services/HNB-General-Insurance-launches-customer-support-chatbot-powered-by-AccelTree/42-778480"},{"kind":"deployment","industry":"Marketing & Creative","region":"Sri Lanka","role":"Corporate communications professional","org":"People's Leasing & Finance PLC","text":"People's Leasing & Finance PLC now holds the title of Sri Lanka's first AI avatar for annual reports, courtesy of martech firm Enfection. Built on RAG and large language models, this corporate reporting AI fields questions on financial and sustainability metrics instead of static PDFs.","date":"2025-07-02","source":"https://www.ft.lk/marketing/Enfection-launches-Sri-Lanka-s-first-interactive-AI-avatar-for-Annual-Reports/54-778459"},{"kind":"evidence-adoption","industry":"Government & Public Sector","region":"Sri Lanka","org":"Government of Sri Lanka (Ministry of Digital Economy, ICTA)","text":"About 1,000 executive officers from ministries across Sri Lanka joined AI training for public officials at Temple Trees, Colombo, run jointly by the Ministry of Digital Economy and the Information and Communication Technology Agency (ICTA). The single large workshop covered generative tools including ChatGPT and Gemini, aiming to lift digital literacy across government ranks.","date":"2025-06","source":"https://www.themorning.lk/articles/lnF0g3F27hRgIiKmP1Am"},{"kind":"deployment","industry":"Government & Public Sector","region":"Sri Lanka","role":"Police officer","org":"Criminal Investigation Department (CID), Sri Lanka Police","text":"Sri Lanka's Criminal Investigation Department (CID) produced AI-generated suspect images of people wanted over a serious Southern Province crime. Its Homicide and Organised Crime Investigation Division built the likenesses from incident footage, using AI facial image generation for police with the Crimes Record Division, then released them for tips.","date":"2025-06-02","source":"https://www.lankavnews.com/949/"},{"kind":"deployment","industry":"Healthcare & Life Sciences","region":"Sri Lanka","role":"Hospital patient services staff","org":"Nawaloka Hospitals PLC","text":"Nawaloka Hospitals runs NASHA, an AI-powered outpatient department chatbot reviewing patient symptoms and directing suitable care. A separate corporate chatbot sits on its website, both already active. Sri Lanka gets its first such setup for digital patient interaction, an early move into AI-driven OPD triage support.","date":"2025-05-28","source":"https://www.ft.lk/healthcare/Nawaloka-Hospitals-pioneers-AI-driven-healthcare-with-launch-of-smart-digital-platforms/45-776979"},{"kind":"deployment","industry":"Finance & Insurance","region":"Sri Lanka","role":"Retail loan officer","org":"Sampath Bank","text":"Five taps on the Sampath Vishwa Mobile App now trigger a full AI-powered personal loan decision, under Sampath Bank's new Sampath Select scheme, marketed as Sri Lanka's first fully automated lending product of its kind. Real-time analysis of applicant data replaces the old paper-heavy approval chain, producing an instant, paperless outcome. The pitch centres on AI-driven loan approval, with credit checks and sign-off compressed into one digital flow.","date":"2025-05-09","source":"https://www.newswire.lk/business/sampath-bank-launches-sls-first-fully-ai-powered-instant-personal-loan-solution/"},{"kind":"deployment","industry":"Transport & Logistics","region":"Sri Lanka","role":"Customer service representative","org":"SriLankan Airlines","text":"Nearly 12,000 queries have hit Yaana, SriLankan Airlines' AI customer support airline chatbot — 88 percent settled without staff help. CodeGen International built it on GPT-4 and NLP, easing this generative-AI customer service load on agents.","date":"2025-02-06","source":"https://www.newswire.lk/2025/02/06/srilankan-airlines-unveils-yaana-the-ai-powered-chatbot/"},{"kind":"regulation","industry":"Government & Public Sector","region":"Sri Lanka","org":"Cabinet of Sri Lanka (Ministry of Technology)","text":"The Cabinet approved the National AI Strategy (AI Sri Lanka 2028), a five-year Sri Lanka AI policy aimed at a regional AI hub and economic resilience by 2030, with Rs 1 billion of the 2024 budget for initial work. Target sectors are public safety, public sector services, agriculture, finance, education and healthcare. Seven principles, among them inclusivity, transparency and human-centricity, guide this national AI plan, drafted by the Committee on Formulating a Strategy for AI (CFSAI) with UNDP support.","date":"2024-08-27","source":"https://www.newswire.lk/2024/08/27/cabinet-nod-for-implementation-of-national-strategy-on-ai/"}]}