Students in Sri Lanka will receive free access to Google’s powerful generative AI platform, Gemini, and associated benefits starting mid-October.
This initiative was announced by Deputy Minister of Digital Economy, Eranga Weeraratne, during the inauguration of the AI National Expo.
Gemini is a powerful tool designed to support students with tasks such as writing, research, planning, and brainstorming.
However, a lead for Google Developer Group Sri Lanka and academic, Suresh Peries, explained the importance of using these tools responsibly and ethically.
Peries noted that a common misconception is that AI will replace humans entirely.
Instead, he suggested, the more likely scenario is that repetitive human tasks will be replaced by AI models, but humans who master AI tools will replace those who do not. This shift makes the ethical application of AI crucial in an academic setting.
He stressed that students must not use AI simply to copy and paste, particularly for academic publications or coursework. Since AI is trained on pre-existing knowledge, the goal for researchers should be to build and explore new knowledge, not generate something that already exists. He pointed out advanced features, like listening to a research paper as an audio podcast, as examples of beneficial, ethical use.
Discussing the advantages, Peries stated that AI makes educational resources and information easily accessible, a task that previously required manual effort. However, he cautioned that this ease of access comes with a question of credibility. Users must verify information and actively mitigate potential biases present in large language models. The key challenge for humans is to handle and mitigate this bias.
Regarding the drawbacks, Peries warned against becoming overly reliant on the tools, stressing that students should use AI to make work more efficient and lives easier, rather than depending on it entirely.
The Google AI for Education program, set to begin in mid-October, is viewed as a significant advancement for Sri Lankan students.6 Its ultimate value, however, will depend on students maintaining a disciplined, ethical approach, using AI as an assistant for exploration, and not as a substitute for critical thinking.
