Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) Systems Can Offer Significant Data Advantages When Artificial Intelligence (AI) is Integrated: Dr Dushni Weerakoon

17-20 March 2025

Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) systems can offer significant data advantages in data quantity and quality when integrating Artificial Intelligence (AI) to deliver more efficient and effective public services, said IPS Executive Director Dr Dushni Weerakoon.

DPIs not only collect large amounts of human generated data from citizens, but such data is collected in a standardised format unlike much of the unstructured data available on the Internet, she added, elaborating that the quality of data is further enhanced if such data sets address inherent biases that exclude marginalised population groups.

She made these observations at a panel on the ‘DPI-AI Nexus: Balancing Data, Privacy and Progress’ at the Raisina Conclave 2025 hosted jointly by the Observer Research Foundation, Carnegie India and the Ministry of External Affairs in New Delhi, 17-20 March 2025.

Dr Weerakoon also cautioned that the benefits of AI integration in DPI systems will depend on an inclusive and effective implementation of DPI in countries seeking to implement the same, such as Sri Lanka, with appropriate regulatory and legal systems in place to safeguard ethical considerations.