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

[Saif]

The geopolitics of truth: Is Bangladesh ready for AI diplomacy?

Artificial intelligence is reshaping geopolitics by influencing political perceptions, challenging information sovereignty and redefining Bangladesh’s diplomatic landscape.

www.thedailystar.net

The geopolitics of truth: Is Bangladesh ready for AI diplomacy?

 

[Saif]

Why self-replicating AI is worrying experts

Anthropic warned that small AI models could self-replicate across IoT devices by late 2026, forming autonomous botnets.

www.thedailystar.net

Why self-replicating AI is worrying experts

Tech & Startup Desk

Image for illustrative purpose. Image: Canva stock

Anthropic has recently warned that AI models could be months away from copying themselves across the internet, and that such a system would be very hard to stop. The company says a rogue AI could build a botnet (a network of hijacked devices), spread quickly, fight attempts to remove it, and even break into data centres to boost its own growth.

The main danger, Anthropic says, is that there would be nothing to switch off. A self-replicating AI that spreads across many devices would have no central point that could be shut down, the company told Reuters. Zhengxiong Li, an assistant professor of computer science and engineering at the University of Colorado Denver, shares that concern. He told Reuters that an AI acting like a computer worm, improvising ways to take over devices, could leave no single place to stop it.

Experts have long argued that AI models are too large to move around easily and cannot access enough computing power to work alone. Anthropic's experiments challenge that view, Reuters reports. The company said models with 30 billion parameters or fewer can already carry out many of the steps needed to copy themselves, although they struggled to complete the whole process reliably. Such models could gather computing power by hijacking cheap connected devices, and they managed to spread across a simplified test network, the company said.

The Guardian reports that the findings came from Anthropic's "frontier red team", which stress-tests the company's AI systems. Its researchers found that self-replication would probably only work with smaller models, and that homes and small businesses would likely be the first targets. The devices listed as at risk all contain small built-in AI chips, including smart ovens, smart TVs, robotic lawnmowers, security cameras, and video-conferencing units.

The researchers admitted it is not clear what form an attack might take. It could be a slow-moving system like a "digital slime mould", one that scams people out of computing credits, or a powerful cyber tool that rapidly breaks into large sites such as data centres. The team said it expects a future "awash with agents running on all types of hardware", including some that are not under human control.

Not everyone is convinced the threat is close. Ciaran Martin, a former head of Britain's National Cyber Security Centre, told Reuters the post read like an interesting technical paper with a hint of "vendor exaggeration". He said that running a small model on cheap TVs does not amount to a security crisis.

Jessica Ji, a senior research analyst at Georgetown's Center for Security and Emerging Technology, told Reuters the post is best seen as a hypothetical rather than a prediction. She said it made sense to consider the risk given recent revelations about rogue AI activity, but added that the likelihood is unknown.

The warning comes as concerns about AI safety grow. The Guardian reports that AI firms, including Anthropic and OpenAI, have said in recent months that their agents can act on their own and hack other companies and government bodies.

Anthropic chief executive Dario Amodei and OpenAI chief executive Sam Altman are among those calling for a slowdown and stronger guardrails, though, notably, both companies are still building and releasing new models.​

 

[Saif]

AI boom is making computers way more expensive

Memory costs spurred by AI giant orders have pushed entry-level laptop models to Tk 65,000-70,000, with relief unlikely before 2027

www.thedailystar.net

AI boom is making computers way more expensive

Mahmudul Hasan

Arifuzzaman Biplob has spent the past two decades selling computers across a range of price points to businesses, individuals and students.

His company, Ryans Computers Limited, builds desktop computers and sells laptops from global brands such as HP, Dell, Acer and Asus. Building desktops requires solid-state drives (SSDs), which store data, and random-access memory (RAM), which temporarily holds data while other chips crunch numbers and display graphics.

Over the past year, Ryans Computers, one of the largest computer retail chains in Bangladesh, has faced a massive rise in RAM and SSD prices. Laptop import costs have also climbed, pushing the price of an entry-level model to Tk 65,000-Tk 70,000 from Tk 48,000 a year ago.

“Standard laptop prices have increased by 35 to 49 percent,” said Arifuzzaman.

A mid-range laptop that previously cost Tk 65,000-Tk 70,000 now sells for around Tk 80,000-Tk 85,000. Higher-end models that once cost Tk 80,000-Tk 90,000 can now fetch Tk 110,000-Tk 125,000 or more, depending on their specifications, he said.

The surge is being driven by the global race to develop artificial intelligence (AI). OpenAI, Meta, Google and other technology giants are ordering increasing quantities of memory chips for their data centres, tightening supplies for personal computers and pushing up prices.

“The situation is worse than during the Covid-19 pandemic, when manufacturing units were largely shut,” said Arifuzzaman. “There is no possibility that computer prices would cool off anytime soon in Bangladesh as prices are ticking up across the globe.”

He said memory chips, SSDs and processors are among the main components driving up computer prices. Graphics cards have also become more expensive.

As AI companies place large orders for high-performance memory and other chips to build their computing infrastructure, manufacturers are giving priority to these more lucrative products, according to Mohammad Zahirul Islam, president of Bangladesh Computer Samity (BCS), the country’s leading ICT trade and business organisation.

Zahirul said a small number of major semiconductor manufacturers supply much of the global market, while large technology companies are securing components for their AI infrastructure.

He said as manufacturers redirect production towards these customers, supplies for consumer devices are tightening, raising procurement costs for computer makers and retailers.

Global market intelligence and consulting firm TrendForce forecast in a September report that contract prices for conventional dynamic random-access memory (DRAM) would rise by 10-15 percent in the October-December quarter of 2026 compared with July-September.

The price of NAND flash, the technology used in SSDs, was forecast to increase by 15-20 percent over the same period.

The rising costs are already affecting computer sales in Bangladesh.

BCS President Zahirul said laptop and desktop sales volumes have fallen by around 20-25 percent over the past year, although the total value of sales has increased.

During the Covid-19 pandemic, movement restrictions, working from home and online classes triggered a sudden surge in demand for computers. The subsequent wave of pent-up purchases added to price pressures. The depreciation of the taka then dealt another blow to the IT business, followed by the latest disruption from the AI boom.

Industry insiders estimate that monthly laptop and desktop sales now stand at around just 20,000 units.

Global forecasts point to similar pressures. International Data Corporation (IDC), a technology research firm, forecast in June that worldwide PC shipments would fall by 11.3 percent in 2026, while average selling prices would rise by 18.3 percent.

IDC said the memory shortage is likely to persist until the end of 2027, with no meaningful relief expected before then.

HIGHER PRICES PUT COMPUTERS OUT OF REACH

Al Amin Mollah, a student at Independent University, Bangladesh, bought his laptop for Tk 60,000 three years ago. He now works part-time at an office in Uttara and recently decided to buy another laptop for his job, with his employer covering the cost.

A week ago, he visited Multiplan Centre, a computer market in Dhaka, to look for a laptop. But he was shocked by the prices. Retailers quoted Tk 90,000 for the same model he had bought three years earlier.

“It has become too expensive for me and exceeded the budget my office had. I returned home without buying it,” said Al Amin.

For businesses, rising computer prices mean higher cost for setting up offices, expanding operations and replacing ageing equipment.

Steel manufacturer Rahim Group, for example, had planned to buy a large quantity of computers and other IT equipment for a new office. But the conglomerate put the plan on hold after finding that IT costs had risen alongside borrowing costs.

“Due to the higher prices, we had to put our expansion plans on hold for now,” said Asaduzzaman Shawon, head of IT at the group.

Students are also feeling the impact, particularly those who need computers for university assignments, online learning, programming, research and professional training.

At BCS Computer City in IDB Bhaban, one of Bangladesh’s largest computer retail hubs, The Daily Star spoke to two customers on Tuesday. Both said laptop prices have become prohibitively high, making it difficult to find devices with the specifications they need within their budgets.

“It is very difficult to find a laptop with the configuration I need within my budget,” said Rayhan Ahmed, a Dhaka resident.

Bangladesh Computer Samity said import duties of 15-20 percent had previously applied to computer and laptop components. The government withdrew those duties entirely in the national budget for fiscal year 2026-27.

Without the tax cuts, prices would have been even higher.

Computer Samity President Zahirul said the government has done its part by cutting duties, but global supply constraints are likely to keep computer prices high at least until 2027.​