Artificial Intelligence: Navigating the Crossroads of History, Law, and National Identity

We all know that artificial intelligence (AI) is now indeed reshaping many aspects of our lives, from the mundane to the complex. Before we move forward in this article, let’s look at some key areas where AI is making an impact:

Healthcare: AI is known for its capability of revolutionizing healthcare by aiding in disease diagnosis, drug discovery, and personalized medicine. Imagine if we could completely diagnose and treat a person with only AI-generated healthcare practices. What life threats we will have in the future? It’s very important to always have a kind human doctor come into the middle of everything.

Transportation: AI can control where we go. For example, AI can support us with self-driving cars and drive us on the road through its own intelligent traffic management system. So, it means in the future AI can control how we transform how we move.

Finance: AI algorithms are used for fraud detection, risk management, and automated trading, altering the financial landscape. So, if in the future we as humans do not control AI in a good manner, if we feed it wrong technical data, AI can behave totally opposite to any nation in a matter of seconds. What will happen? People used to be revolutionized by a lack of food and fuel and other everyday needs. Imagine if AI stopped a country’s financial system in one second. What would happen?

Communication: Nowadays, AI-powered tools are enhancing language translation and enabling more natural interactions with technology. Easily simulating language or those who have developed their own mother tongue seem to be easily interacting with AI, giving their worldwide reference to their own safety and cultural aspects. What should Sri Lanka do in this case?

Smart Cities: Many of us are aware that AI is at the heart of smart city initiatives, optimizing energy use, reducing waste, and improving urban planning. So, what about us as a nation? Are we developing our own AI based on the Sinhala language that can support us in the next millennium in the world? How can we be innovators or finders if we don’t know our mother tongue properly? What smart city can we build then in the future?

Criminal Justice: AI is being used to predict crime hotspots and assist in forensic analysis, which is very advanced for any civilization. But think about it in the opposite way: if AI can help in any situation in crime management, think the same in the opposite situation. What will happen? Who can control this? As the author of this article, I have researched and found there is a big gap in finding the right law and orders in many cases, even though cases are evidently attached to higher court websites and other law-related website areas. Who are the engineers backing this? Are they within us in this sovereign country or providing different superlative ideologies? Who is this moderator, who pays for them? Don’t we need our own AI and cyber warriors against them to defend a country and its culture? All Sri Lankans remember what a single ‘haze’ tag can do to a nation.

Education: AI is used to personalize learning experiences powered by AI to adapt to individual student needs, changing the educational field. Which seems too good, but still, no one knows how to produce their own AI system. We are getting all westernized education systems and looking for work in other countries with those educations. When can we as a nation turn the other way around and teach others what we have, what knowledge we have for a thousand years in a natural intelligence way?

“The author received this image via WhatsApp. It has been reposted without the Buddha image appearing in the middle of these photos. It is intended solely for research and awareness purposes, with no intention of violating the Buddha Sāsana Law.”

Entertainment: In entertainment, AI curates personalized content recommendations and even helps create new music and art, which people use every day for their artworks. As an author, I have seen in Lord Buddha’s arts created by AI-assisted arts contain winged gods appearing behind the Buddha. It is a great tragedy that we see winged gods appear in the background when you are going to create the life story of the Lord Buddha or the Jataka story through the AI arts mechanism because everyone must know that birds have wings, not real gods. It is sad to see and a big tragedy that, in some places, even famous Buddhist monks are used to share with us this picture containing the Lord Buddha’s image appears without Buddha’s true traits. Buddha’s traits were clearly written in Mahapurusha Lakshana. These 32 major characteristics are also supplemented by 80 other characteristics. Art, image, or status without the Buddha’s physical traits is an act against the Buddha’s Sasana Law and order. Are Sinhala Buddhists aware of this? As a nation, what do we do now? It’s very sad to say we are almost going to fail state as a Sinhala Buddhist civilization.

Retail & Manufacturing: AI is used in inventory management, customer service, and personalized shopping experiences. AI-driven robots and predictive maintenance are reshaping manufacturing processes, arranging many interactions with history and law. The integration of AI into these fields presents both opportunities and challenges.

War Affairs & Military: AI has been transforming military operations with autonomous weapons systems capable of independently locating and destroying targets, while also raising ethical concerns about the level of autonomy and decision-making without human input. AI is also streamlining military logistics through predictive maintenance tools that analyze data to preemptively identify device failures, thereby reducing unscheduled maintenance. Decision support systems powered by AI are enhancing human decision-making in warfare by synthesizing and analyzing data to make recommendations, and AI-enhanced war games are providing military leaders with sophisticated tactical advice and operational planning competencies. Despite the technical benefits, the integration of AI into warfare necessitates careful ethical consideration. Imagine individuals being targeted by AI model craft and vehicles. When are we going to have such a defense system in the future? For reduce attacks from Ai Governance Intelligent as another nation, we must consider local security helps of AI, think our own ways, and consider empowering Buddha Sasana Law in cyber security and in AI intelligence with our own language. As we have the world’s most beautiful and lively language, our AI will look very different from other countries’ AI, and I am sure that as a civilized nation we can teach and assert that every living being in the world has the right to refrain from harm and not be a victim of dying. Also, this is a time we are going on with 4G War affairs, and this is the fourth industrial revolution that is already dehumanizing even the sex of someone with all those revolutionary technologies and mindsets so far going to control in the future by AI integration. At the court level, we must go through an amendment of not only a Cyber act but for the law to control AI itself and bring out the arm of Buddha Sasana Law front in Artificial Intelligence. Also, as a nation right now, we have to make local and question current international regulations to mitigate risks associated with its use in armed conflicts and as well as cultural war affairs by AI programmers around the world.

In the era of rapid technological advancement, artificial intelligence (AI) plays a crucial role in all aspects of life. AI stands at the forefront of innovation, challenging the traditional paradigms of history and law. As nations, we must grapple with the integration of AI, especially as concerns arise regarding the authenticity of historical narratives and the sovereignty of states. There are many false histories about our country on the internet, and traditional AI standards are passing mass misinformation about our thousand-year history. Sometimes AI feeds us humanitarian concepts that drive the idea that everyone, including different nations and expatriate societies, has equal rights in Sri Lanka, even suggesting they can separate their own controlled land area within our country and ultimately have a separate state. This concept, provided by AI in a double standard game, is against our Sri Lankan Sixth Constitution—Sixth Amendment to the Constitution of Sri Lanka—which was enacted on 8 August 1983 and made it a criminal offense to advocate secession and establishing a separate state within Sri Lanka. But what does AI do? Who’s going to control criminals who use this misinformation to lead a team against Sri Lanka’s land and sovereign state? As a nation, we now have a question in front of us: How can we preserve history with AI? AI has the potential to revolutionize historical research by processing vast amounts of data, identifying patterns, and uncovering insights that might otherwise remain hidden. If there is hidden information, then we have to teach our nation, especially academics and school children, to question the reliance on AI and to raise questions about the accuracy and bias in historical narratives. It is crucial for them to come forward and ensure that AI tools are fed with diverse and accurate data to maintain the integrity of their historical records. When we look at AI and the evolution of law on the World Wide Web, we can see that the legal landscape is not immune to the influence of AI. From predictive analytics in litigation to AI-assisted legal research, AI technology is transforming the practice of law. But we can see its transformation is yet with its pitfalls. The current western and some other AI technology ethical and legal implications of AI are wrong; it has a machine bias and the black box problem. As a nation, it necessitates a careful approach to integrating AI into legal systems.

We all must sacrifice our own time and knowledge to build AI that knows our national identity, where in our country, mainly the Sinhala language and culture, are integral to national identity. The development of AI in the local language is a step towards preserving and promoting cultural heritage. By creating AI that understands and communicates in Sinhala, Sri Lanka can ensure that its civilization remains sustainable in the globalized world. The Sri Lankan government must develop new norms and dispute resolution mechanisms that are essential to address the issues posed by AI because it’s the state’s responsibility to maintain the sovereignty of the country. Nations must collaborate to establish a framework that respects the sovereignty of each country while harnessing the benefits of AI. At the same time, combating misinformation is a hard subject. I believe in the fight against false narratives that threaten national sovereignty is not an easy subject; AI can be a double-edged sword. While it can aid in detecting and debunking misinformation, it can also be used to propagate it. Vigilance and robust legal frameworks are necessary to prevent the misuse of AI in spreading fake history and influencing international and local law.

Now, as a nation, the “Sinhala Buddhist Civilization,” we stand at the crossroads. It is imperative for academics, policymakers, and technologists to work together to guide the development of our own “Ceylon AI.” By using natural intelligence, we can protect our historical narratives, uphold the rule of law, and preserve our national identity for future generations.

“Children should be allowed to involve themselves in making our own AI because it is their future. And the other thing is, Buddha very clearly stated that even a seven-year-old child can achieve the greatest level of intelligence and become a ‘Maha Rahath.’ However, if there is a middleman—such as AI—it marks the end of true intelligence and, ultimately, freedom.”- Attorney-at-Law. Krishantha Nissanka

The quote by Krishantha Nissanka offers a contemplative view on AI’s role in society, advocating for children’s participation in AI development while warning against its potential to hinder genuine intelligence and freedom. It acknowledges the innate potential for wisdom in children, as per Buddha’s teachings, but cautions that AI might disrupt their natural intellectual growth, advocating for a mindful AI integration that enhances rather than limits human potential.

The mind is everything. What you think, you become.” —Buddha

– By Palitha Ariyarathna

Analyst of Buddhist affairs, Desha Abhimani Surya Vansa Ratna Vibhushan Palitha Ariyarathna from Senkadagala Sinha Dwara…
TCFBI PEC President Unethical Conversion of Buddhist
TCFBI International Co-ordinator
JBB Convenor and President and Founder Sinhala Buddhst Policy Centre
Author Publisher and Journalist

Palitha Ariyarathna is a prolific Sri Lankan author and speaker whose literary works span various genres, including Buddhism, Sri Lankan culture, poetry, and responses to socio-political issues.Ariyarathna’s works are characterized by a deep connection to his heritage and a commitment to exploring and preserving the cultural and religious history of Sri Lanka. His literary contributions are not only significant in the context of Sri Lankan literature but also offer valuable perspectives on broader human experiences and societal issues