The AX (AI Transformation) in QA conference, Asia’s inaugural event dedicated to AI-driven Quality Assurance, was held on 18 June 2026 at the Science and Technology Center in Gangnam, Seoul, South Korea. Organized by AsiaSTA (Asian Software Testing Alliance), the conference brought together leading researchers, technology experts, and Quality Assurance professionals from across Asia to explore how Artificial Intelligence is transforming software quality engineering.
The conference commenced with welcoming remarks by Prof. Seungbum Park, President of the Korea Society of IT Services (KITS), followed by the opening address by Kenji Onishi, President of AsiaSTA, who shared the organization’s vision for strengthening regional collaboration in software quality.
The conference featured presentations from internationally recognized experts, including:
Prof. Jaesik Choi (KAIST, South Korea) – Testing and Verifying Black-Box AI
Dr. Stuart Reid (STA Testing Consulting, UK) – Testing, AI and Standards
Reifa Tangon (SQUADAP, Indonesia) – Indonesia’s QA Market at the AI Inflection Point
Zhenyi Zhou (CSTQB, China) – How AI is Reshaping Software Quality Across the Entire Lifecycle
Lan Ye (CSTQB, China) – Are You Ready for Adapting AI in Testing?
Prof. Shuji Morisaki (Nagoya University, Japan) – Software Product Strategies and Development Paradigms in the AI Era
Dr. Jonghong Jeon (ETRI, South Korea) – Navigating the AX Era
A notable feature of the conference was its live AI-powered multilingual translation, enabling participants from different countries to engage seamlessly and making technical knowledge sharing truly borderless.
Representing Sri Lanka at the conference was Kapila Karunaratne, a Software Quality Assurance veteran, Software Delivery Head, educator, researcher, and mentor with over two decades of experience in software engineering and quality assurance.
Speaking after the conference, Karunaratne said the event highlighted how AI is fundamentally transforming the future of Quality Engineering.
“The conference provided an excellent opportunity to learn from internationally recognized experts, exchange ideas with QA leaders across Asia, and explore future collaborations. AI is reshaping every stage of the software quality lifecycle, and Sri Lanka has a great opportunity to strengthen its capabilities by embracing AI-enabled Quality Engineering, continuous learning, and regional partnerships.”
He added that such collaborations could help accelerate Sri Lanka’s ambition of becoming an innovation and technology hub in South Asia while enhancing the country’s software engineering capabilities.
Karunaratne also expressed his appreciation to the organizers for their invitation and hospitality.
“I sincerely thank Kenji Onishi, President of AsiaSTA, Sunny Kwon, President of KSTQB, and Wonil Kwon, Director of STA, for their warm hospitality and friendship. I look forward to strengthening collaboration between AsiaSTA and Sri Lanka through future knowledge-sharing initiatives, professional development programmes, and research partnerships.”
The conference underscored the growing importance of AI-driven Quality Engineering and demonstrated how international collaboration will play a vital role in preparing software professionals for the next generation of software development and testing. Sri Lanka’s participation in this landmark event reflects the country’s increasing engagement with global software quality initiatives and emerging AI technologies.