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

[Saif]

Impact of AI on apparel sector

THE apparel sector is the backbone of the economy, employing more than 4.4 million people and accounting for more than 80 per cent of the export earnings. For decades, its competitive edge has rested on abundant, low-cost labour. Today, that model is facing its most significant transformation...

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Impact of AI on apparel sector

The apparel work force, already lacking formal vocational training, is ill-equipped for new digital roles, writes Md Mamun Alam

THE apparel sector is the backbone of the economy, employing more than 4.4 million people and accounting for more than 80 per cent of the export earnings. For decades, its competitive edge has rested on abundant, low-cost labour. Today, that model is facing its most significant transformation, driven not by global trade wars or economic shifts but by a silent, rapidly evolving force that is artificial intelligence.

The adoption of artificial intelligence and automation, often categorised under the Fourth Industrial Revolution, is reshaping workforce productivity in apparel factories.

The integration of artificial intelligence primarily targets repetitive, high-volume and complex cognitive tasks previously susceptible to human errors. The most immediate productivity gains are visible in three critical areas:

Quality control: Traditionally a labour-intensive process, fabric and garment inspection is now revolutionised by computer vision systems. High-resolution cameras feeding data into artificial intelligence algorithms can automatically identify stitching mistakes, tears and stains in real time. Research suggests that artificial intelligence systems can achieve up to a 30 per cent boost in quality control efficiency, leading to a measurable reduction in manufacturing defects, sometimes as much as 20 per cent. The automated systems operate at a speed human inspectors cannot match, ensuring superior quality consistency demanded by fast-fashion global buyers.

Supply chain and planning: Artificial intelligence-driven predictive analytics is used to move beyond manual scheduling. Algorithms optimise production schedules based on real-time factors such as raw material availability, machine capacity and evolving global demand. This ability to forecast accurately minimises waste, controls inventory better and shortens the critical lead time for export orders, bolstering the competitiveness of manufacturers against rivals in Vietnam.

Operational efficiency: Artificial intelligence-powered tools also enhance overall factory flow through predictive maintenance, identifying equipment failures before they happen and reducing costly downtime. Furthermore, robotic process automation handles monotonous tasks like material sorting and handling, freeing up human workers to focus on tasks requiring dexterity and judgment.

While productivity soars, the ethical and social implications for the vast apparel work force are profound. Aartificial intelligence is a double-edged sword, threatening millions of jobs, especially among the predominantly low-skilled female workers who constitute the majority of the sector’s employees.

Studies estimate that up to 60 per cent of the current apparel work force, about 2.7 million people, could be displaced by 2041 by automation. This is not a distant threat. Recent industry reports indicate that technological upgrades have already led to a reduction in the overall factory employment by around 30 per cent, primarily affecting entry-level positions such as helpers. Production stages involving highly repetitive work such as cutting have seen the steepest labour cuts.

The key to navigating this transition is recognising that artificial intelligence does not eliminate all jobs. It replaces tasks and creates new, higher-value roles. The demand is shifting from manual operators to specialists who can interact with, maintain and manage intelligent systems: artificial intelligence operators, robot technicians and data analysts.

The core challenge that Bangladesh today faces is the mismatch of skills. The apparel work force, already lacking formal vocational training, is ill-equipped for these new digital roles. With limited training and development opportunities available within the factory system, a significant portion of the displaced work force risks being left behind.

A strategic, unified national response is mandatory. While the government’s national industry policy recognises artificial intelligence as a transformative technology, explicit policies surrounding job loss compensation, reskilling mandates and support for a ‘just transition’ remain critically underdeveloped.

Bangladesh must move beyond viewing its work force as a cheap, disposable commodity. The success of the apparel sector depends on strategic government intervention through subsidies for artificial intelligence adoption, coupled with compulsory, subsidised reskilling and upskilling programmes.

By transforming factory workers into ‘technicians’ and ‘supervisors’ equipped with digital literacy, Bangladesh can retain its human capital, ensure a smoother transition and solidify its position in the global high-value apparel market. Failure to do so risks trading short-term productivity gains for long-term social instability.

Md Mamun Alam is chief operating officer, C-NET.​

 

[Saif]

Tiny tech, big AI power: what are 2-nanometre chips?

Taiwan’s world-leading microchip manufacturer TSMC says it has started mass producing next-generation ‘2-nanometre’ chips...

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Tiny tech, big AI power: what are 2-nanometre chips?
Agence France-Presse . Tokyo 31 December, 2025, 23:04

Taiwan’s world-leading microchip manufacturer TSMC says it has started mass producing next-generation ‘2-nanometre’ chips.

AFP looks at what that means, and why it’s important:

The computing power of chips has increased dramatically over the decades as makers cram them with more microscopic electronic components.

That has brought huge technological leaps to everything from smartphones to cars, as well as the advent of artificial intelligence tools like ChatGPT.

Advanced 2-nanometre (2nm) chips perform better and are more energy-efficient than past types, and are structured differently to house even more of the key components known as transistors.

The new chip technology will help speed up laptops, reduce data centres’ carbon footprint and allow self-driving cars to spot objects quicker, according to US computing giant IBM.

For artificial intelligence, ‘this benefits both consumer devices -- enabling faster, more capable on-device AI -- and data centre AI chips, which can run large models more efficiently’, said Jan Frederik Slijkerman, senior sector strategist at Dutch bank ING.

Producing 2nm chips, the most cutting-edge in the industry, is ‘extremely hard and expensive’, requiring ‘advanced lithography machines, deep knowledge of the production process, and huge investments’, Slijkerman told AFP.

Only a few companies are able to do it: TSMC, which dominates the chip manufacturing industry, as well as South Korea’s Samsung and US firm Intel.

TSMC is in the lead, with the other two ‘still in the stage of improving yield’ and lacking large-scale customers, said TrendForce analyst Joanne Chiao.

Japanese chipmaker Rapidus is also building a plant in northern Japan to make 2nm chips, with mass production slated for 2027.

TSMC’s path to mass 2nm production has not always been smooth.

Taiwanese prosecutors charged three people in August with stealing trade secrets related to 2nm chips to help Tokyo Electron, a Japanese company that makes equipment for TSMC.

‘This case involves critical national core technologies vital to Taiwan’s industrial lifeline,’ the high prosecutors’ office said at the time.

Geopolitical factors and trade wars are also at play.

Nikkei Asia reported this summer that TSMC, which counts Nvidia and Apple among its clients, will not use Chinese chipmaking equipment in its 2nm production lines to avoid disruption from potential US restrictions.

TSMC says they plan to speed up production of 2nm chips in the United States, currently targeted for ‘the end of the decade’.

Extremely tiny -- for reference, an atom is approximately 0.1 nanometres across.

But in fact 2nm does not refer to the actual size of the chip itself, or any chip components, and is just a marketing term.

Instead ‘the smaller the number, the higher the density’ of these components, Chiao told AFP.

IBM says 2nm designs can fit up to 50 billion transistors, tiny components smaller than a virus, on a chip the size of a fingernail.

To create the transistors, slices of silicon are etched, treated and combined with thin films of other materials.

A higher density of transistors results in a smaller chip or one the same size with faster processing power.

Yes, and TSMC is already developing ‘1.4-nanometre’ technology, reportedly to go into mass production around 2028, with Samsung and Intel not far behind.

TSMC started high-volume 3nm production in 2023, and Taiwanese media says the company is already building a 1.4nm chip factory in the city of Taichung.

As for 2nm chips, Japan’s Rapidus says they are ‘ideal for AI servers’ and will ‘become the cornerstone of the next-generation digital infrastructure’, despite the huge technical challenges and costs involved.​

 

[Saif]

Proactive steps can future-proof jobs in the AI era

There is a widespread fear across US campuses, businesses, and industries that the emergence of artificial intelligence (AI) and its rapid integration into all spheres of our lives will lead to job losses and a lifestyle where robots control our daily routines.

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Proactive steps can future-proof jobs in the AI era

18 January 2026, 12:00 PM
By Dr Abdullah Shibli

FILE VISUAL: REUTERS

There is a widespread fear across US campuses, businesses, and industries that the emergence of artificial intelligence (AI) and its rapid integration into all spheres of our lives will lead to job losses and a lifestyle where robots control our daily routines. However, further exploration of this notion shows that much of this projection is exaggerated, fed by our fascination with dystopian science fiction. In reality, AI will gradually make inroads into transportation, manufacturing, and agriculture; AI-driven robotics will replace routine tasks, provide health and other services, thus boosting financial growth.

My commentary is for the younger generation considering their career paths, today’s industry leaders evaluating investment opportunities for the future, and thought leaders in academia and AI research.

Let us take stock of the current situation in the US and other advanced countries. AI is poised to eliminate a variety of jobs, particularly those involving routine tasks, data analysis, and customer service, while roles requiring human judgement and emotional intelligence are likely to remain safe.

Microsoft developed an “AI applicability score” to measure how well AI can perform the core tasks of various jobs. Jobs with high scores are more likely to be transformed or replaced by AI technologies. Many of these jobs are in domains such as computer and mathematical fields, office and administrative support, and sales.

In a recent article in The New York Times, Sal Khan, the Bangladeshi founder of Khan Academy, wrote, “I believe artificial intelligence will displace workers at a scale many people don’t yet realize.” However, he also calls on business leaders to invest in retraining workers to adapt to new workplace technologies.

AI-enhanced humanoid robots and autonomous machines will be in high demand across warehouses, supply chains, transportation, and agriculture. In Bangladesh, many manual tasks, including irrigation, tilling, and fertiliser application, have seen the intrusion of mechanisation for decades.

Robotics in agriculture, often referred to as “agribots,” encompasses a range of automated technologies designed to improve farming practices. These robots perform essential tasks such as planting, harvesting, monitoring crop health, and managing livestock, significantly enhancing productivity and efficiency in modern agriculture.

While AI will enable us to work and learn better, there will be a growing need for skilled labour to operate and manage this new technology. The challenge our society, particularly our new generation, faces is adapting to the changing job market and economic ecosystem. Universities and industry leaders will now need to have a subcommittee to study and better understand the societal and economic impact of AI.

Microsoft itself is dedicating some energy to understanding the future of the workplace. It is providing considerable funding to graduate students engaged in research, market design, the economics of Artificial Intelligence (AI), economics and computation, social learning, applied microeconomics, microeconomic theory, and behavioural economics.

Sal Khan advised big companies to invest one percent of their profits in training their own workers to adapt to AI and robotics. He estimates that one percent of the combined profit of a dozen of the world’s largest corporations would create a $10 billion annual fund.

Now, let us turn to retraining the workers who will undoubtedly be affected by changes in the job market. The revolution brought about by AI and automation is fuelled by chipmakers such as Nvidia. In a recent interview, Jensen Huang, the founder and CEO of Nvidia, said that polls show AI-driven robots will be used for office and administrative support, domestic work, and repetitive tasks. However, robots will not be able to outperform humans in healthcare, classroom teaching, and scores of other jobs.

The US Bureau of Labor Statistics projects that nearly two million jobs will open up annually in the healthcare sector during the next decade. UNESCO estimates a global shortage of 44 million teachers by 2030. In the US, the construction industry needs more than 500,000 additional workers annually just to meet demand; meanwhile, openings for electricians and plumbers are growing faster than average. The hospitality and elder care industries—work rooted in empathy and human presence—are expanding, not shrinking.

Our teachers must adapt to the changing times and prepare our students for smart jobs. With advances in AI technology, many jobs will undergo transformation, and some roles will face a significant risk of automation. Workers in knowledge-intensive fields should be proactive in adapting to these changes, seeking opportunities for reskilling and embracing new technologies to remain competitive in the evolving job market.

At the 1 Billion Followers Summit 2026 in Dubai, educators, content creators, and learning designers called for a fundamental shift in how education is delivered. Education must pivot from rote learning to skill-based development (problem-solving, digital literacy) to equip graduates for this evolving landscape, focusing less on degrees and more on practical workplace readiness, as AI displaces some roles while boosting productivity.

Turning to agriculture, it is a sector that is crucial in meeting the food demand for a growing population projected to reach 9.7 billion people by 2050. Robots can operate continuously, performing tasks faster and more accurately than human labour, which is in short supply anyway. While the integration of robotics in agriculture presents numerous advantages, challenges such as high initial costs and the need for skilled operators exist. Any potential job displacement can be addressed by strengthening the skilled crafts and trades required to sustain the AI-driven economy.

The goal of universities should be to move away from a mindset focused solely on producing more graduates and towards a system that equips students with workplace skills. To do that, educational reform must transition immediately from exam-based assessment to skill-based learning.

Dr Abdullah Shibli is an economist and academic, currently working with a non-profit fiscal intermediary in Boston, US. He previously worked for the World Bank and Harvard University.​

 

[Saif]

Staying human in the age of AI

AI has slipped into daily life with a kind of stealth. One moment you are using it to tidy up an email or translate a paragraph, and the next you are letting it outline your presentation, draft your report, suggest your next move, even tell you what you feel.

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Staying human in the age of AI

By Nadia Jahan

Image: Esma Melike Sezer/ Unsplash

AI has slipped into daily life with a kind of stealth. One moment you are using it to tidy up an email or translate a paragraph, and the next you are letting it outline your presentation, draft your report, suggest your next move, even tell you what you feel. The shift is not just about new software. It is about habits. In a country where young people are under relentless pressure to compete, save time and sound polished, the temptation is obvious: delegate as much as possible, move faster than everyone else, and let the machine take the strain.

But there is a cost to handing over too much. The more we outsource, the more we risk hollowing out the very qualities that make us employable, resilient, and alive to one another. Staying human in the age of AI means knowing when to use the tool and when to step back from it, not out of nostalgia, but because some parts of life only work when we do them ourselves.

There is an easy misunderstanding about AI that makes over-delegation feel harmless. We treat it like a calculator for words, a neutral device that simply speeds up what we already know. Yet many AI systems do more than compute. They generate. They suggest. They complete our thoughts for us, often in a tone that sounds confident and coherent. That can create the illusion of competence even when the underlying thinking is thin. If we accept that illusion too often, we begin to live in a world where sounding right matters more than being right, and where the first draft becomes the final one.

Image: Giingerann/ Unsplash

The first thing we lose is the muscle of judgement. Writing a message, shaping an argument, or making a decision is not only about producing an output. It is about weighing what matters, anticipating how it will land, and taking responsibility for the consequences. When you let AI do the heavy lifting every time, you may still get something workable on the page, but you gradually weaken the inner sense that tells you what is true, what is fair, what is missing, and what does not sound like you. That sense is slow to build and easy to erode.

There is also a practical risk: dependency makes people fragile. AI tools can be wrong, inconsistent, or strangely generic. They can flatten nuance, misunderstand context, and reproduce patterns that are common rather than correct. If you have not practised doing the work yourself, you cannot reliably catch the errors. You also struggle when the stakes rise: when a client challenges a claim, when an interviewer asks you to explain your reasoning, when you have to negotiate, persuade, or improvise in real time. In those moments, there is no prompt that can replace a well-trained mind.

The second thing we lose is originality. Not in the grand sense of artistic genius, but in the everyday sense that your work carries a trace of your experience: your curiosity, your humour, your way of seeing. AI can imitate styles and remix familiar patterns, which is exactly why it can be useful for routine tasks. But if you let it write everything, you end up speaking in borrowed rhythms. You become less memorable. You become easier to replace.

This is where the so-called “human touch” becomes more than a sentimental phrase. In competitive workplaces and crowded markets, the human touch is often the differentiator.


It is the ability to listen properly to what someone is asking, to sense what they are not saying, to respond in a way that makes them feel understood rather than processed. It is empathy, timing, judgement, tact. It is also taste: knowing what to leave out, when to simplify, when to insist on complexity, when to be firm, when to be kind. AI can help with drafts and options, but it cannot fully replace the lived intelligence that comes from being in the world, paying attention, and caring about consequences.

In Bangladesh, this matters because so much opportunity depends on relationships. Whether you are pitching a client, working in a team, running a small business, freelancing online, or building a startup, trust is the currency. Trust grows through consistency and human presence. It grows when you show up, reply thoughtfully, keep your word, and treat people as people. If AI encourages a culture of shortcuts where every message is a template and every interaction is optimised for speed, trust becomes harder to earn. You might respond faster, but you can sound less real.

The deeper danger is that over-delegation does not stop at work. It creeps into the personal. When people use AI to avoid awkward conversations, to manage emotions, to write apologies, to craft romantic messages, to mediate conflicts, they may feel relief in the moment. But avoidance has a price. Relationships are not built through perfect phrasing. They are built through vulnerability, patience, and the willingness to sit with discomfort. If you outsource the difficult parts of being with other people, you do not develop the skills that make intimacy possible.

That is why social skills are not a soft extra in the age of AI. They are a survival skill. As machines get better at routine cognitive output, what remains valuable is what machines cannot do in the same way: build rapport, read a room, resolve conflict, motivate a team, mentor someone younger, earn a customer’s loyalty, handle criticism without collapsing, and communicate under pressure. These skills have always mattered. Now they matter more, because they are harder to automate and because they protect us from turning ourselves into something machine-like.

Image: Michaelle Daoust/ Unsplash

The irony is that technology often makes social skills feel optional. When you can text instead of call, when you can order without speaking, when you can work remotely and never meet your colleagues, you can go through days with minimal human friction. AI takes this further by offering a substitute for interaction: an entity that always responds, never gets tired, and rarely pushes back. If we are not careful, we start to prefer that frictionless exchange to real relationships, which are messy and demanding. Over time, the preference becomes a habit, and the habit becomes a way of life.

This is how we risk mechanising ourselves. Not because machines become human, but because humans begin to adopt the machine’s logic. We optimise everything. We minimise effort. We reduce conversation to transactions. We treat people as obstacles or opportunities, not as complex beings. We choose the easiest route rather than the most meaningful one. When enough individuals do this, society becomes colder. Loneliness rises. Trust falls. Even success feels strangely thin.

Staying human, then, is partly a matter of deliberate resistance. It means choosing, again and again, to practise what AI makes easy to avoid.

It means writing sometimes without assistance, so you can hear your own voice and strengthen your ability to think through language. It means doing mental work slowly enough to understand it, rather than producing answers quickly enough to move on. It means reading deeply rather than skimming summaries, because attention is a form of respect, and because complex problems cannot be solved with shallow understanding.

It also means making extra efforts to protect human-to-human connection in a world that quietly erodes it. Call a friend instead of sending a perfectly composed message. Sit with someone in person even when it is inconvenient. Ask questions you cannot outsource. Listen without planning your next reply. Join communities that are not about productivity: sports clubs, volunteer groups, study circles, cultural events, neighbourhood networks. These are not distractions from the future. They are part of what makes any future worth living in.

For young people especially, there is a temptation to treat social skills as secondary to technical skills. Learn the tools, build the portfolio, collect the certificates, and the rest will follow. But the person who thrives in an AI-shaped economy will often be the one who can combine competence with connection. The future belongs to people who can use machines without becoming machine-like: who can collaborate across differences, communicate clearly, negotiate fairly, and keep a sense of purpose bigger than optimisation.

None of this requires rejecting AI. It requires putting it in its place. AI is best understood as an amplifier. Used wisely, it can amplify your learning, your productivity, your creativity. Used carelessly, it amplifies your laziness, your dependence, your isolation. The difference is not the tool. It is the human using it.

The point of staying human is not to prove you can do everything the hard way. It is to protect what only humans can do well: meaning-making, moral judgement, genuine care, solidarity, courage. These are not romantic ideals. They are practical advantages in a volatile world. They help people adapt, recover, cooperate, and build institutions that last.

In the coming years, Bangladesh’s young people will be told, repeatedly, that the future belongs to those who embrace AI. That is true, in a narrow sense. But the broader truth is that the future belongs to those who embrace people. The real challenge is not learning to prompt a machine. It is learning to remain fully human while you do.

Nadia Jahan is a development communications professional based out of Dhaka.​

 

[Saif]

How will artificial intelligence transform the labour market?

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is expected to pose the biggest disruption to global labour markets since the industrial revolution in the 19th century.

www.thedailystar.net

How will artificial intelligence transform the labour market?

 

[Saif]

AI is becoming a companion for some teens, and that’s a problem

Address AI addiction risks as teenagers increasingly use chatbots for emotional support over human connection. Recognize behavioural patterns like social withdrawal and prioritize offline interactions to ensure healthy psychological development and balanced digital life habits.

www.thedailystar.net

AI is becoming a companion for some teens, and that’s a problem
29 January 2026, 16:13 PM

By Ayman Anika

Photo: Collected / bertellifotografia / Pexels

Chatbots were originally designed to answer questions and help with tasks, but an unexpected trend is emerging: many teenagers are treating these systems as companions. What started as curiosity is turning into what experts describe as a form of AI addiction — not in the clinical sense yet, but as a pattern of reliance that can interfere with daily life.

This isn’t just about teenagers preferring technology over face-to-face interaction. It’s about the way AI is being used to fill emotional gaps. Teens are spending hours chatting with AI programs, not just for help with homework but for emotional support, encouragement, and social interaction. Some report talking to AI more than they talk to real friends.

The appeal is understandable. AI doesn’t judge, doesn’t interrupt, and is always available. For teens who feel misunderstood, lonely, or socially anxious, a chatbot can feel like a safe space.

Photo: Collected / pavel danilyuk / Pexels


Providers of these technologies design them to be responsive, engaging, and empathetic, which only strengthens the habit. A conversation that begins with a homework question can easily turn into an emotional outlet.

But that convenience comes with a cost. A 2024 survey linked to trends in AI use shows that when children lean on technology instead of people, it can affect emotional development, school performance, and real-world relationships.

Because chatbots can mimic empathy without actually experiencing it, they give teens a sense of connection that isn’t grounded in mutual understanding. That can make real relationships feel harder, or less rewarding.

Experts point out that habitual overuse of any technology — in this case AI — starts to look like more than just a habit. Patterns include prioritising chatbot interaction over friendships, hiding usage from loved ones, and becoming distressed when access is restricted. These behaviours mirror what psychologists recognise as problematic tech use, similar to excessive gaming or social media addiction.

Parents can play a crucial role in recognising this early. Signs include sudden mood shifts when screen time is limited, declining interest in offline activities, and frequently using AI late at night. Conversations about technology often focus on safety and screen time limits, but with AI, the discussion needs to include how and why teens are using it.


Opening a dialogue without judgment helps teens reflect on their own habits. Rather than banning AI outright, what matters more is helping them find balance and understanding the difference between supportive use and dependency.

Photo: Collected / bertellifotografia / Pexels


Setting clear limits and routines can help. Experts suggest designated tech-free hours, encouraging in-person interaction, and promoting hobbies unrelated to screens. Some families choose to check in daily about how technology made a teen feel — not just how long they used it. That shift from quantity to quality of use aligns technological tools with healthy emotional development.

There’s no simple fix. AI is here to stay, and for many it will be a useful resource. But when reliance on AI begins to replace real human connection or interferes with daily life, parents and caregivers need to pay attention. Helping teens navigate this new terrain is as much about emotional guidance as it is about digital rules.

AI doesn’t have to be the problem. Without awareness and limits, it can become a substitute for the support and connection that only real human relationships can provide.​

 

[Saif]

The fear and the future: what the emergence of AI can mean for our youth

The notion that artificial intelligence (AI) is going to rewire the basis of our understanding of many entities, even at this point in time, seems a little far-fetched.

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The fear and the future: what the emergence of AI can mean for our youth
20 January 2026, 07:40 AM

Illustration: Zarif Faiaz

The notion that artificial intelligence (AI) is going to rewire the basis of our understanding of many entities, even at this point in time, seems a little far-fetched. Yet, what it does have the potential to do is lead us into new territory. As things stand, though, most users are still trying to figure out its limitations, while those who develop it seek to shatter them. In between the swinging tides stand the youth. Left in limbo, the young demographic is left wondering precisely how disruptive artificial intelligence really is and what its development means for their future.

Zunayed Ahmed, a third-year software engineering student at Seneca Polytechnic in Canada and a software automation intern at Communications & Power Industries (CPI), explains how he thinks entry-level jobs in tech have been impacted due to the emergence of AI: “The bar has been raised. For example, let’s say you are writing an API—Application Programming Interface. What you’d previously have to do was go through the documentation, read it, understand it, and then code. Now, it takes minutes to have a skeleton code. Because the workload is less tedious, you’re expected to know a lot more and do more as well.”

The development of generative AI has been meteoric. Most constraints that were conspicuous even a year ago have been rectified to various extents. Although new concerns have emerged, its integration into the professional realm has been evident. Even through AI’s limited capacity, it is able to execute tasks that are typically reserved for entry-level workers, which is to say repetitive and often mundane tasks that are low-stakes. Such a prospect is understandably anxiety-inducing for fresh graduates as well as for those on the precipice of graduation and even those who are currently pursuing their education.

Anica Hossain, a graduate student of communications at University of Liberal Arts (ULAB), a graphic designer, and owner of art merchandise business Anico, discusses the shift she has observed: “The development of AI has impacted the industry a bit. A lot of employers and brands tend not to hire graphic designers. They’re convinced that AI models can generate social media posts, write captions, and brainstorm ideas. But output that’s churned out by models distinctly looks like it was made by AI. Not everyone wants that kind of work. People still look for the human touch in the design. So, I don’t feel super threatened yet.”

Image: Google Deepmind

“Each artist and designer has their own distinct style, which I don’t think AI models can replicate yet. As an artist, I am unsettled that the work we create is used to train these models. In the future, these tools might create output that can emulate artists’ distinct styles. Right now, however, you still need designers to refine work generated by AI,” Hossain adds.

Having spent their formative years pursuing a qualification, only for it to be deemed inadequate, is discouraging. The purpose of entry-level jobs has been to help young graduates transition from the classroom to the professional realm. It is a period of training, one that isn’t just meant to teach and enhance the skills of fresh graduates but also allows them to figure out what kind of work they want to do. For such a crucial part of the process to become seemingly obsolete is disruptive in more than one way. In Bangladesh, particularly, this can amplify an already existing problem.


In a report by the World Bank, it was stated that unemployment in Bangladesh amongst tertiary-educated youth has increased significantly, with university-educated youth making up 27.8 percent of the total unemployment in 2022. An alarming rise from 9.7 percent in 2013. The rise in employment cannot be attributed to the rise of generative AI, though. However, with job creation stagnating and AI’s rapid improvement following in tandem, the state of the job market hangs in the balance.

Salma Begum, PhD, an associate professor at the Department of Economics and Social Sciences at BRAC University and a labour economist, analyses the dynamics of the current Bangladeshi workforce: “If we look at the research, it shows that the Bangladeshi labour market is at a low exposure level. Our exposure is well below the regional average when comparing neighbouring countries. This is because we depend more on agriculture and have informal services, which have not seen much automation so far. Digital inequality, in terms of access to digital literacy and relevant education, is another contributing factor.”

“AI models learn from data, and our country’s availability of good-quality, reliable data is low. This is a problem because while AI will eventually affect our market, our low exposure currently indicates our low preparedness for it,” she adds.

According to a report by the World Economic Forum (WEF), AI and information processing are projected to displace 9 million jobs, while creating 11 million new ones. It is expected that automation alone will cause 5 million jobs to be displaced. It must, however, be noted that the net disruption in the job market will be positive, with more jobs being created than displaced. What will be subject to change, though, is how people work, with the dynamic between humans and machines expected to alter.

“It is important to know and learn what AI tools can be leveraged to your benefit. This is something I do myself, and it does make working easier. I also think the ability to use AI tools might become a requirement in the future,” emphasises Hossain.

“Using AI in my workplace is encouraged. My employers have seen how powerful a tool it is. In fact, we have a proprietary AI model that employees are expected to use. In my workflow, I use it for debugging, and sometimes to find fixes as well. I will also use it to generate snippets of code that may be considered repetitive, low-risk, and not complicated. Lastly, I use it to write documentation whenever I am finishing up work on a big file, which is supposed to guide the next person who is going to work on it,” Ahmed affirmed.

Image: Immo Wegmann/ Unsplash

A point of contention still remains, of course. WEF asks that if AI and algorithms are contributing to a larger proportion of output and income, then where does that leave people? It, thus, becomes imperative that the significance of human-machine collaboration is reinforced when these inquiries are made.

Whether such considerations are going to be made remains to be seen. Based on findings from the World Bank, 1.2 billion young people in emerging economies will become working-age adults. In contrast, the job market is projected to only create 420 million jobs, leaving almost 800 million people in a precarious employment position. To tackle an issue of this magnitude, employers across the globe are emphasising the need to reskill and upskill.

“No technology is inherently good or bad. We can harness it for productivity and efficiency increases, which is how we utilise the benefits. But we can also not be prepared for it, for which we may pay a price in terms of lost employment and opportunities,” Salma Begum explains.

The conversation surrounding the impact of AI tends to devolve quickly into one of paranoia, where the most plausible outcome is envisioned to be the complete substitution of human labour. While these fears are by no means unfounded, what they do require us to do is take a step back, which can be difficult due to the uncertainty that has cloaked the entire situation. Nonetheless, the need to do so remains integral.

Though Ahmed finds the mechanism, even the scale and engineering, behind AI tools to be fascinating, he doesn’t think it is reliable enough to replace humans. “I have seen how AI models deal with complex tasks. Each one has a context window, which can be a limiting feature as it can forget vital information. You can’t replace humans with a tool that forgets or is unable to reason on its own. So, I just don’t see how software engineers and developers can be replaced, at least not with the technology we currently have.”

In a research paper by Isabeela Loaiza and Roberto Rigobon from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) - Sloan School of Management, the authors introduced the EPOCH framework to understand how human capabilities have the capacity to complement, rather than compete with AI. The EPOCH framework identified five groups of human capabilities that allow work in areas where machines are limited. These include Empathy, Presence, Opinion, Creativity, and Hope.

Findings from the paper suggest that US workers are shifting towards tasks that “emphasise the human-intensive capabilities”. In fact, the results state that “new tasks” that appeared for the first time in 2024 are more human-intensive. It is also worth noting that human-intensive occupations were reported to experience more employment growth, hiring, and better projections. Some major occupations that had high EPOCH scores included Emergency Management Directors, Human Resource Managers, Sociologists, Clinical Psychologists, and Environmental Economists, amongst others.

Salma Begum reiterates that traditional career paths could take on a new form in the future, urging the young workforce to consider roles that bridge domains.

“Employers will want to hire people who are good learners, can solve problems, and work with new systems. Individuals who can navigate uncertainty and integrate new tools into their existing workflow are highly valued. Your ability to successfully adopt these systems in your workplace will matter more than your proficiency with any particular software,” she says.

When asked what students can do to adapt to the emergence of AI tools, Salma Begum emphasised the need to build a broad set of transferable skills along with proficiency in their core area, as boundaries between industries are being blurred.

There is little doubt that AI tools are a force of disruption, transforming and being integrated into workflows across sectors. What makes it a source of anxiety, however, is that we are still not sure just how disruptive it truly is. Given the rate at which it is progressing, the limits that previously defined the question are withering away; constantly expanding its range. While we don’t know the answer to this question, what it unravels is very human. As people, we are sceptical of the unknown. It is this instinct that forces us to ask questions, reason, and be critical. And this ability will determine not just how we understand AI tools but how we can use them to maximise their potential.

Abir Hossain is a sub-editor at Campus, Rising Stars, and Star Youth.​