“When the Sky Turned Wired: Sri Lanka’s Search for Humanity in a Digital Storm”

For thirty years, the arc of human development drew steadily upward—a quiet chart of lives lengthened, minds opened, and standards lifted. But the 2025 Human Development Report, released under the theme “A Matter of Choice: People and Possibilities in the Age of AI,” brings that arc to a tremble. The global climb has stalled. Inequality has risen again, for a fourth consecutive year. Sri Lanka’s HDI rank holds at 89, but a concerning surge in its Gender Inequality Index—from 122 to 93—echoes a wider truth: the most vulnerable are slipping further behind.

In Colombo, the local launch of the report—co-hosted by the Ministry of Digital Economy and UNDP Sri Lanka—gathered over 200 participants from across the policy spectrum. It was more than a presentation; it was a collective pause to ask where we are, and where we wish to go. At the heart of the discussion: Artificial Intelligence. Will it widen the divide, or open new doors?

UNDP’s Resident Representative Azusa Kubota offered a clear-eyed reminder: “We stand at a crossroads. AI must be people-centred—this is not a technical challenge, but a moral one.” That sentiment underpins Sri Lanka’s first National AI Strategy, developed in partnership with the UNDP—anchored in ethics, digital inclusion, and a vision for a just technological future.

Deputy Minister of Digital Economy, Hon. Eranga Weeraratne, outlined a bold ambition: “AI is the new engine of opportunity—but only if we prepare wisely.” With a national goal of reaching a US$15 billion digital economy by 2030, Sri Lanka’s strategy blends innovation with conscience, ensuring no citizen is left behind.

As the world recalibrates under the pressure of emerging technology, Sri Lanka’s launch of the 2025 HDR becomes a mirror—reflecting not just data, but deep choices. Between algorithm and empathy, between growth and equity, the lines of our future are still being drawn—faint, luminous, and full of consequence.