Hon. Governor of the Northern Province N. Vethanayahan stated that Artificial Intelligence should be used not to replace human officials, but to enhance their efficiency and expedite services to the public, and that no matter how much technology advances, humanity must continue to remain at the heart of administration.
A special consultative workshop on the use of Artificial Intelligence in the Northern Province administrative structure was held today – on Friday 21 August 2026, at the auditorium of the Chief Secretary’s Secretariat – Northern Province. The Hon. Governor, who participated as the chief guest and addressed the event, made the above remarks.
Continuing his address, the Governor stated,
“In this era when the world is changing rapidly, public administration must also adapt accordingly. People want to receive information and services immediately. They do not wish to visit multiple offices or face unnecessary delays for this purpose. Artificial Intelligence significantly reduces the time taken by an official to examine large volumes of documents, compare data and make decisions. Amid the shortage of personnel and resources in the provincial administration, this also gives us an opportunity to provide more services with limited resources.
The proposal presented today, titled ‘Unified Control Tower Native-AI Northern Province Governance Ecosystem Platform’, is a comprehensive approach that brings together various sectors of the provincial administration and takes them towards digital transformation. However, the success of AI technology should not be measured solely by its technological capability. It depends on the extent to which it reduces the difficulties faced by the public and improves their experience.
Government institutions hold highly important personal data relating to the identity, health, finances and land of members of the public. Therefore, when introducing such technologies into administration, utmost attention must be paid from the outset to matters of data protection, privacy, access control and accountability. Although technology may provide recommendations, we must not forget that the final administrative decision will remain with a government official. Furthermore, such structures must be developed in a manner suited to the unique social, linguistic, cultural and geographical context of our province” he emphasized.
At this workshop, Senthilkumar, Founder and Chief Artificial Intelligence Strategist of India’s VASA InfoTech Services Pvt, Ltd and Thanasekar participated as resource persons and delivered their views.
Many provincial officials, including Secretaries of the Northern Provincial Ministries, Deputy Chief Secretaries, Heads of Departments and Directors of Planning, also participated in the event.
