Around 22.8 percent of Sri Lanka’s workforce is currently exposed to the impact of Generative AI, Labour Minister Anil Jayantha Fernando said on Wednesday, citing the figure during a Colombo discussion on the implications of artificial intelligence on the labour market and employment, Ada Derana reported.
The minister did not break down the figure by sector, but said the exposure estimate is consistent with international research suggesting clerical, customer-service, content-production, paralegal and entry-level analytical roles face the most immediate displacement and task-redesign pressure from Generative AI tools. He framed exposure as encompassing both jobs at risk of partial automation and those likely to be augmented by AI capabilities — not solely outright displacement.
Sri Lanka’s exposure mix reflects a workforce skewed toward agriculture, light manufacturing and tourism — sectors with lower direct exposure to text- and code-generating Generative AI — alongside a fast-growing BPO and IT-services segment with much higher exposure. The minister said the government was working with the Digital Economy Ministry on a national AI-readiness response that would cover re-skilling, social protection and AI-procurement standards within the public sector.
The remarks came against the backdrop of Digital Economy Minister Eranga Weeraratne’s earlier pitch for AI data centres and a sovereign LLM as twin pillars of Sri Lanka’s digital strategy. Both ministers have publicly framed AI as a productivity opportunity that requires active state stewardship to avoid widening inequality.
The Labour Minister said the ministry would consult trade unions, employer federations and tertiary-education institutions on a phased re-skilling programme. No timeline for legislation or formal AI workforce regulation was announced.
Sources: Ada Derana — Around 22.8% of workforce exposed to Generative AI – Labour Minister.
