[🇧🇩] Artificial Intelligence-----It's challenges and Prospects in Bangladesh

[Saif]

Address the misuse of social media and AI

AI and social media fuelling mis- and disinformation is threatening unity in Bangladesh.

www.thedailystar.net

Address the misuse of social media and AI
We must not let lies on cyberspace disrupt peace and unity

VISUAL: STAR

The United Nations chief's recent comment about social media and artificial intelligence (AI) amplifying hate speech and spreading disinformation rings true in Bangladesh's present context. Only five months ago, social media networks were used to unite people in bringing down Sheikh Hasina's fascist regime. Unfortunately, the same tool, enhanced with AI-generated content, is now being used to create divisions in society.

After the ouster of Sheikh Hasina's fascist regime, many perceive—60 percent, according to a recent survey by Voice of America—that freedom of speech and expression has improved in Bangladesh. Yet, as the lines between expressing an opinion and stating a fact become blurry and murky on social media platforms, people and organisations are being harassed or threatened with mob justice. More concerningly, thanks to social media, the propagation of misinformation and disinformation—as well as taking content out of context and presenting it with ill intention—is quickly spreading across national borders.

It has reached a new level, especially after the fall of Sheikh Hasina. For instance, our neighbouring country's media—given the political ideology they serve—are resorting to social media misinformation to such an extent that their actions are causing a rift in Bangladesh-India relations. More worryingly, it is instilling hatred among many people, threatening social cohesion and unity. Sadly, reiteration of falsehoods, sometimes with the help of AI-generated content on social media, often succeeds in gaining people's trust. In fact, a 2018 study by MIT's Media Lab found that "falsehood diffuses significantly farther, faster, deeper, and more broadly than the truth." Moreover, it is humans who reshare false information more than bots that are made for that purpose.

To counter the spread of misinformation and disinformation on social media, the government must develop ways to address the deepfakes of the cyber world. Countering false narratives and controlling the propagation of disinformation by forces outside the nation may require well-thought-out strategies. The country's media, as well as internationally reputed outlets, can play a role in this fight. At the same time, the government must ensure that press freedom in the country is not threatened. Additionally, the government's messaging in this context should be uniform, and its actions must reflect its words.

Additionally, the authorities should focus on improving social media literacy. Enhancing online intelligence capabilities should also be considered. However, any steps, including creating new policies to control and prevent cybercrimes using information as a weapon, should not come at the cost of people's right to privacy and free speech.​

 

[Saif]

How to use AI efficiently and ethically for studying

Here are some efficient tips for using AI which will not compromise your learning.

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How to use AI efficiently and ethically for studying

Photo: Orchid Chakma

The subject of using artificial intelligence (AI) for studying is a controversial one, to say the least, even though this practice has been going on for quite some time now. The unease surrounding AI usage in one's studies is understandable. However, students often blur the lines between academic integrity and genuine learning when it comes to using AI. Whether it's due to time constraints, multiple assignments piling up, or just procrastination, AI often becomes a 'quick-fix' tool of sorts rather than a tool to help one learn better or faster.

Even so, as much as some teachers would sternly advise us to steer clear of AI when it comes to academic obligations, it cannot be denied that AI can serve as a crucial tool when it comes to learning. Hence, to find a proper balance, here are some efficient tips for using AI which will not compromise your learning.

Personalised learning

Everyone's learning curve is different. While some are content with textual content, others thrive with visuals. With rapid advancements in AI, more and more tools are being unveiled to support and sustain your learning. As a result, no matter what your learning style is, finding the right method will ensure that you are thoroughly understanding the concepts and actually learning instead of using AI as a crutch to get a passing grade.

Summarising content

For writing-heavy tasks requiring you to go through textbooks and documents, AI can come in handy with summaries, especially if it's in a chapter-wise format. That way, you can decipher which bits are relevant to your learning and go back and peruse those sections from your reading materials. This way, you can optimise your time while also getting the actual reading done.

Making study planners

If you are overwhelmed with overlapping academic tasks and have no clue where to begin, asking AI for study planners can be extremely fruitful. Not only will you be provided with detailed timely breakdowns for each task, coupled with well-needed breaks, but also tips on how to stay on track and what to prioritise. This step prevents you from succumbing to the pressure and helps you stay focused.

Asking for feedback

Before AI, whenever you got stuck at a coding problem or weren't exactly pleased with the style of your essay, your only option was to wait around for a teacher to get back with their assistance or feedback. However, with AI's constant availability, you can get instantaneous solutions, whether it's finally understanding how to restructure your writing or knowing what went wrong in your balance sheet. Thus, you can very easily learn where your weaknesses and strengths lie.

Using AI-powered flashcards

Through this method, complex concepts are broken down into simpler fragments to aid your comprehension. As you progress, the difficulty of the flashcards is adjusted. You can also instruct the AI to make flashcards in the form of quizzes or games to better aid your learning. Writing down the content from the flashcards can also serve as a note-taking strategy, enabling you to remember the content better.

It is evident that AI will only evolve with time, and there is no way to ignore its impact. However, as students, we must understand that consistently relying on AI to speed through homework and assignments without truly engaging in the learning process ultimately does more harm than good. Such dependence will only dwindle our creativity, problem-solving skills, and genuine curiosity. Hence, a middle ground is necessary, to ensure that AI only serves as a supplement and not a replacement to actual learning.

Anica Bushra Rahmaan is a student of Economics at BRAC University.​

 

[Saif]

AI comes down from cloud as chips get smarter

Artificial intelligence is moving from data centres to ‘the edge’ as computer makers build the technology into laptops, robots, cars and more devices closer to home.

www.newagebd.net

AI comes down from cloud as chips get smarter
Agence France-Presse . Las Vegas 10 January, 2025, 22:55

Attendees walk past a row of Chinese businesses in Eureka Park at Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas on Wednesday. | AFP photo

Artificial intelligence is moving from data centres to ‘the edge’ as computer makers build the technology into laptops, robots, cars and more devices closer to home.

The Consumer Electronics Show (CES) gadget extravaganza closing Friday was rife with PCs and other devices touting AI chips, making them more capable than ever and untethering them from the cloud.

Attention-grabbing stars included ‘AI PCs,’ personal computers boasting chips that promised a level of performance once limited to muscular data centres.

‘Whatever was running in the cloud last year is running on the edge this year,’ Kamesh Medapalli, senior vice-president of innovation and technology at Infineon Technologies, told AFP.

‘The pattern is already there and will only accelerate; the opportunity is huge on the edge.’

Nvidia chief executive Jensen Huang got a celebrity reception at CES, where he announced a ramped-up line of graphics processing units (GPUs) that imbue PCs with AI capabilities.

Huang told a packed arena that nearly all computer makers are working with Nvidia to get ready ‘so AI PCs are coming to a home near you.’

Huang unveiled ‘Project DIGITS,’ described as a personal AI supercomputer.

It features a new Nvidia ‘superchip’ for prototyping, fine-tuning and running large AI models on desktop computing systems, according to the chip maker.

‘AI will be mainstream in every application for every industry,’ Huang said.

‘Placing an AI supercomputer on the desks of every data scientist, AI researcher and student empowers them to engage and shape the age of AI.’

Project DIGITS signals that Nvidia’s strategy for AI data centres is extending to consumers who want the technology on their own machines, according to University of Pennsylvania computer science professor Benjamin Lee.

Infineon’s Medapalli said a shift to the edge means that functions like engaging with generative AI chatbots that once involved sending requests to be processed in data centres could be handled on a PC or smartphone.

‘You don’t have to have any internet connection; you don’t have to talk to anybody in the cloud,’ Medapalli said.

‘All your data is private and local — that is what I mean by edge AI, and that is rapidly coming.’

The AI edge could be anywhere processors can be embedded, including robots, cameras and cars.

‘That’s why the opportunity is huge in edge AI,’ Medapalli said.

Market tracker Canalys has projected that AI-capable PCs will account for some 40 per cent of overall PC shipments this year, with that number more than doubling by 2028.

‘The wider availability of AI-accelerating silicon in personal computing will be transformative,’ Canalys principal analyst Ishan Dutt said in a post.

‘PCs with dedicated on-device AI capabilities will enable new and improved user experiences, driving productivity gains and personalising devices at scale while offering better power efficiency, stronger security and reduced costs associated with running AI workloads.’

CES goers flocked to a Gigabyte Technology booth at CES to check out PCs enhanced with Nvidia high-performance processors.

‘We’ve had a lot of interest in the graphics card as well as the gaming laptop, because they are the

top from Nvidia right now,’ Mia Qu of Gigabyte told AFP.

‘Especially for gamers or people who plan to us it for large storage or high performance on a daily basis, they’re eyeing these specific products.’

Techsponential analyst Avi Greengart said chip and laptop vendors at CES are seeing AI capabilities resonate with people who want to speed up workflow, extend battery life and enhance video calls.

‘We are actually seeing AI making a difference in real things people actually do,’ Greengart said.​

 

[Krishna with Flute]

AI is a double edged sword. Strict regulations are required to deal with possible nuisance coming along with the development of AI. There is going to be a big competition between big countries to take a lead in AI. Bangladesh should ensure that they are not left behind to far from where it becomes impossible to ketchup They should start investing in AI right from this point of time

 

[Saif]

Navigating the AI revolution: Opportunities and challenges in Bangladesh

What remains to be seen is whether or not we can make full use of its potential.

www.thedailystar.net

Navigating the AI revolution: Opportunities and challenges in Bangladesh

Illustration: Salman Sakib Shahryar

The age of artificial intelligence (AI) is upon us, and it has brought huge changes in the 21st century, transforming not only industries and economies but also everyday life. Naturally, Bangladesh is also joining this AI wave, with organisations here gradually using AI to improve services and boost economic growth.

However, as businesses and organisations across the country start embracing this technology, what remains to be seen is whether or not we can make full use of its potential, and what roadblocks we might have to deal with along the way.

Mashrur Ahmed, a business development executive at Unilever Bangladesh Limited, highlighted how AI is transforming the company.

"AI helps us grow faster and work more efficiently," he said, citing partnerships with Microsoft and Accenture to develop tools like 'Una', an AI co-pilot that helps with quick decision-making. The AI is capable of answering questions by fetching data from the company's database.

AI also supports employee development at Unilever through 'Degreed', a customised learning platform like Coursera that hosts an array of courses developed in-house. By utilising AI, Degreed recommends courses tailored to individual roles and career paths. Additionally, Unilever's AI-powered social network, 'Viva Engage', makes cross-departmental communication smoother and more engaging.

Artificial intelligence is also making significant strides in the financial sector. Akhyar Noor, CEO and Founder of Buckyy Payment Solutions Limited (BPSL), a research-based fintech solution company headquartered in Bangladesh, highlighted a concerning statistic. As of March 2024, the total disbursed loans reached BDT 16,40,855 crore, with BDT 1,82,295 crore classified as defaulted – the highest in the history of Bangladesh. This equates to an alarming 11.10 percent of disbursed loans being in default.

One of the main reasons behind this significant number of defaulted loans is that debt was granted to several individuals with no means to repay. Akhyar said, "At Buckyy, we have developed a credit scoring engine – Rini AI – using machine learning techniques, trained using the historical financial data of our partner banks. Rini AI can assess the creditworthiness of borrowers more accurately and efficiently compared to manual evaluations. Based on the evaluations, Rini AI sets a credit limit for each borrower that they can comfortably repay with their streams of income."

Regardless of the efficiency AI can offer, workplaces across the globe are still struggling, to some extent, to integrate AI into their regular operations. S K Md Anik Hassan Rabby, a lecturer at the Department of Management Studies, Bangladesh University of Professionals (BUP), said, "Today's workplace is more diverse than ever before. Gen Z has already entered the workforce, meaning there are currently different generations coexisting in workplaces."

Anik further explained, "Many older adults lack the necessary digital skills and confidence to use technology effectively. For instance, a survey of 17 European countries revealed that 52 percent of individuals aged 65 and older do not use the internet. The scenario in Bangladesh is even more concerning. Under such circumstances, the mass implementation of AI could create a digital divide among generations and fuel age-based discrimination in workplaces. Sadly, a digital skills gap is evident even among the youth, with 84 percent of young people in Bangladesh lacking the basic digital skills required to use AI effectively."

Anik, therefore, suggests integrating AI gradually into operations and educational curricula, rather than hastily automating everything, to ensure its effective and efficient use.

Another reason behind the resistance to AI adoption is that many people fear that the rapid integration of AI in the workplace will lead to a widespread job crisis. This concern emerged due to existing machine learning systems' improved ability to emulate human labour across many industries.

However, The World Economic Forum predicts that while Fourth Industrial Revolution technologies driven by AI will significantly alter the world and hence, our work and lifestyles, mass unemployment may not be the inevitable outcome. Regardless, AI is already contributing to a job crisis for creative professionals in Bangladesh.

For SEO writers and graphic designers, AI tools are increasingly taking over tasks like content creation and design. This change not only threatens their jobs but also reduces the demand for creative professionals in the job market.

Musharrat Abir, an SEO writer at 10 Minute School, shared, "I started my content writing journey back in 2017, right when Bangladesh saw a boom in online news portals and Facebook e-commerce sites. There was a huge demand for content writers back then, with more vacancies than generic writers, which made it easier to get started. Fast forward to 2024, and with the widespread use of AI, many small businesses now rely on tools like ChatGPT to handle their content needs."

This shift, Musharrat explained, has made it harder for newcomers in the content writing sector to establish themselves as reputable organisations tend to favour candidates with experience and diverse portfolios. New entrants are hired less frequently. This, in turn, makes it difficult for them to build the profiles that recruiters seek in the first place.

Musharrat further noted that demand for SEO writers is declining overall, as people are increasingly turning to AI tools for more customised answers instead of reading entire articles. As a result, the reach of blogs is decreasing and the popularity of content writing as a profitable side hustle is gradually fading.

Mujahidul Islam, a freelance graphic designer, shares his thoughts regarding the use of AI in creative fields, "The threat of AI tools is not new in the visual design field. During the early days of my career, it was much easier to rank gigs on Fiverr – an online marketplace for freelance services. Clients would hire graphic designers to remove backgrounds from pictures for USD 5 or USD 10. However, in 2019, an AI tool called remove.bg took the graphic design industry by storm, allowing people to remove backgrounds from their pictures with just one click. This led many entry-level graphic designers to lose their jobs."

Mujahidul also said, "I used to create YouTube intro and outro videos for clients on Fiverr and sold my templates on sites like VideoHive. Today, my intervention is rarely needed, as AI tools can easily accomplish tasks that took me years to master and refine."

"Societies faced a similar job crisis after the Industrial Revolution," said Mashrur. "AI should not be seen as a threat, but rather as a tool that increases efficiency."

Adding to this, Mujahidul said, "We cannot deny the benefits that AI brings to the table just because it is predicted to cause a massive job crisis. Therefore, it is essential to upskill oneself to remain relevant in the job market."

Mujahidul went on to explain that rather than viewing AI as a threat, designers can focus on developing their unique style and creativity – areas where AI still falls short.

"Specialising in user experience (UX) and user interface (UI) design is another way to stay relevant, as these fields require human empathy and an understanding of user behaviour," Mujahidul noted.

Adding to the conversation, Musharrat said, "There is a reason why it is called 'artificial' intelligence as it can rarely capture the essence of personal writing styles and voices that truly resonate with readers. This is why SEO writers need to sharpen their writing skills to stay relevant in today's job market."

The use of AI has raised significant ethical concerns as more organisations in Bangladesh particularly turn to AI for their content and advertising needs. Mujahidul noted, "One such ethical issue with AI is that it often builds on existing artwork rather than creating something truly original. For example, if I enter a prompt into Midjourney AI – an AI image generator – it generates an image based on previously created art."

Mujahidul added that this process often means that real artists and graphic designers rarely receive the credit or recognition that they deserve.

"If you have travelled by metro, you may have noticed an AI-generated picture of a woman encouraging you to read a book during your journey," Mujahidul pointed out. "This advertisement, likely created by a single person using an AI tool, would previously have required models, photographers, and graphic designers to bring it to life."

Mujahidul explained that not only are these professionals facing job shortages, but the original artists whose work was used to train the data that generated the image are also deprived of royalties. "It is concerning," he concluded. "More and more organisations in Bangladesh are turning to AI for creating marketing materials, which raises several ethical concerns."

In regard to these ethical concerns, Raiyaan Ehab Shams, a growth marketer, remarked, "We are still in the novice stages of AI implementation. However, in the coming days, it will be essential for companies to develop specific policies regarding the use of AI to ensure that no one is exploited, and credit is given where it is due. For now, the least companies could do is properly disclose when they have used AI to generate images and graphics, as a step toward addressing these ethical concerns."

Relying solely on AI to generate marketing campaigns and advertisements may also not benefit organisations in the long run. Raiyaan explained, "Since AI cannot create anything truly original, if everyone relies on it, they will all end up with similar marketing strategies and materials, making it difficult for any organisation to gain a competitive edge. At the end of the day, human intervention is essential to thrive in this cutthroat competitive market."

Tazrin is a Finance and Banking student at Bangladesh University of Professionals (BUP).​