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

[Saif]

AI dominates pre-election campaigns in Bangladesh: Report

Artificial intelligence-generated content is playing a growing role in the pre-election political landscape in Bangladesh, with a wave of synthetic campaign videos appearing across Facebook and TikTok, according to a recent report by the digital research outlet Dismislab.

www.thedailystar.net

AI dominates pre-election campaigns in Bangladesh: Report

Image: Zarif Faiaz/The Daily Star.

Artificial intelligence-generated content is playing a growing role in the pre-election political landscape in Bangladesh, with a wave of synthetic campaign videos appearing across Facebook and TikTok, according to a recent report by the digital research outlet Dismislab.

The videos, many of them generated using Google's Veo 3 text-to-video tool, feature entirely fictional characters - from rickshaw pullers and fruit sellers to middle-class professionals and religious clerics - voicing support for political parties ahead of the 2026 general election.

Researchers reviewed 70 such AI-generated videos published between 18 and 28 June, collectively amassing over 23 million views and one million interactions on social media platforms. On average, each video received approximately 328,000 views and 17,000 reactions, as per dismislab's findings.

While the Islamist party Jamaat-e-Islami appears to have initiated the trend, the technique has since been adopted by supporters of rival parties, including the BNP and newly formed NCP.

Many of these videos do not carry AI-labelling, despite existing platform rules requiring disclosure.​

 

[Saif]

Bangladeshi coder wins global AI hackathon

Rezaul Karim Arif, a Bangladeshi network engineer based in Melbourne, has built PixelFlow, an AI-powered web application that recently won the AI Showdown Hackathon, a global competition hosted by AI coding platform Lovable with support from Google, Anthropic, and OpenAI.

www.thedailystar.net

Bangladeshi coder wins global AI hackathon

From ideation to execution, the project was completed during the AI Showdown Hackathon held on June 6–8, 2025. More than 239,000 apps were started, and 5,118 were submitted for judging. Images: Courtesy

Rezaul Karim Arif, a Bangladeshi network engineer based in Melbourne, has built PixelFlow, an AI-powered web application that recently won the AI Showdown Hackathon, a global competition hosted by AI coding platform Lovable with support from Google, Anthropic, and OpenAI.

Originally from Chattogram, Rezaul moved to Australia in 2015 to study IT at La Trobe University. Currently working as a network engineer, he also runs an automation and AI development agency that works with both local and international clients. According to Rezaul, his background in freelance design helped shape the vision for PixelFlow, which he now plans to scale.

From ideation to execution, the project was completed during the AI Showdown Hackathon held on June 6–8, 2025. More than 239,000 apps were started, and 5,118 were submitted for judging. Rezaul's project stood out for both its technical design and real-world usefulness. He earned $20,000 in prize money, receiving $10,000 from Anthropic for best use of Claude 4 in the first round and another $10,000 for being the overall winner in the final. The event was fully sponsored for 48 hours, giving all participants free access to premium features and tools.

PixelFlow is an infinite mood-boarding app designed to help users quickly turn abstract ideas into visual layouts. Rezaul says that unlike other tools in the market like Milanote or Miro, PixelFlow is made to be simple and easy to use. "It's like a visual notepad," Rezaul explained, "You open it and start building without needing to learn the tool first." The app is aimed at designers, marketers, and creative professionals who want a quick and simple way to organise their ideas.

Built in only 24 hours, PixelFlow uses several modern technologies, including React 18, TypeScript, Supabase, and Fabric.js. Rezaul also added browser-based AI features such as background removal using Hugging Face's transformer model, and image generation using HiDream-I1 hosted on Google's Vertex AI. He used Anthropic's Claude 4.0 model throughout the development as his main tool for coding support.

In the project, Rezaul also used different custom AI agents. According to him, each agent worked like a team member in a software development project, playing roles such as tester, designer, or product manager. "I break big features into smaller tasks and guide the AI step-by-step," he said. With help from Lovable's AI platform and tools like Windsurf, he was able to finish the design and functions with very little manual work.

While many apps use AI, Rezaul believes PixelFlow stands out because of its smooth user experience. "Most moodboarding apps have too many features and are hard to use. PixelFlow is simple by design, with a good UI and UX."

Although Rezaul has received several investment offers after winning, he plans to continue building the project on his own first. "I prefer to build something strong before taking outside funding," he said. His goal is to add more useful features, turn PixelFlow into a full SaaS product, and explore real commercial uses for it in the growing AI creative tools market.

"I want more Bangladeshis to explore this field," he added. "It's not rocket science, just clever system prompting."​

 

[Saif]

Intelligence before AI

IN A world increasingly driven by artificial intelligence, we find ourselves captivated by machines that emulate what we call ‘intelligence’. But before we marvel at neural nets and language models, we must ask: whose intelligence are we referring to when we use the term? The rise of AI...

www.newagebd.net

Intelligence before AI
Muttaki Bin Kamal 03 July, 2025, 00:00

IN A world increasingly driven by artificial intelligence, we find ourselves captivated by machines that emulate what we call ‘intelligence’. But before we marvel at neural nets and language models, we must ask: whose intelligence are we referring to when we use the term? The rise of AI, paradoxically, urges us to reflect not just on technology, but on what intelligence itself truly is.

Historically, René Descartes and Ibn Rushd (Averroes) offer contrasting frameworks for understanding intelligence and consciousness — differences that remain highly relevant in today’s artificial intelligence debates. Descartes (1596–1650), often called the father of modern Western philosophy, grounded consciousness in subjective certainty: ‘Cogito, ergo sum’ (I think, therefore I am). For Descartes, intelligence is fundamentally internal, individual and rooted in the mind’s ability to reason independently of the body dualism that separates mental and material substance.

In contrast, Ibn Rushd (1126–1198), the great Islamic philosopher and commentator on Aristotle, proposed a radically different model. In his theory of the Unity of the Intellect, he argued that true intelligence is not housed in individual minds but rather in a universal agent intellect shared among all rational beings (Ibn Rushd, Long Commentary on the De Anima). Consciousness, for Ibn Rushd, emerges through participation in this shared rational structure, rather than isolated cognition.

These differences speak directly to the modern challenge of defining intelligence. Descartes’ legacy underpins many AI models that treat the mind as an abstract, computational system — isolated and programmable. Ibn Rushd’s vision, by contrast, aligns more closely with emergent, relational and distributed models of cognition, such as Clark and Chalmers’ (1998) ‘Extended Mind’ hypothesis, which posits that cognition can stretch beyond the brain into tools, environments and networks.

As we grapple with the question of artificial consciousness, these two doctrines remind us of a deeper issue: is intelligence a self-contained algorithm, or a shared process embedded in the world? In AI’s era, that distinction could shape how (or whether) machines can ever truly think.

Going further east, the Buddhist philosopher Nagarjuna, in The Questions of King Milinda, challenges the very basis of individual identity through the concept of Śūnyatā (emptiness). Nagarjuna argues that things exist only in relation to other things, not in themselves — intelligence, then, may not be an intrinsic property of individual beings, but something that emerges through relations and dependencies.

This brings us to collective intelligence, an idea far older than machine learning. Ant colonies exhibit astonishing collective behaviour, often described as swarm intelligence. Research shows that ants solve complex problems — such as pathfinding and resource allocation — through decentralised coordination. No individual ant ‘knows’ the solution, but together they act with uncanny precision.

Even more fascinating is the intelligence of fungi, particularly mycorrhizal networks, which interlink trees underground to exchange nutrients, warn of dangers, and coordinate behaviour. These fungal systems, described as the ‘Wood Wide Web’ by scientists like Suzanne Simard and Peter Wohlleben, show that intelligence can exist without neurons, brains or central control.

Social organisms consistently outperform solitary individuals. The complexity sciences show that systems composed of simple agents following local rules can produce outcomes far more advanced than any agent alone. This emergent intelligence is key to understanding how intelligence might be distributed, rather than localised.

This vision is echoed in Andy Clark and David Chalmers’ (1998) ‘Extended Mind Hypothesis’, which argues that the mind does not reside solely in the skull, but extends into tools, environments and other people. Our smartphones, notebooks and even relationships are part of our cognitive process. Reframing this alongside Nagarjuna’s emptiness and Ibn Rushd’s unity of intellect reveals a deeper pattern: intelligence is not in the thing — it’s in the relation.

Forests, with their interspecies fungal networks, are prime examples. Here, cognition exists not in a single organism, but in the entanglement of many. The fungal ‘mind’ spreads across roots and soil, shaping ecological decisions like resource allocation and species survival. Monica Gagliano’s experimental work on plant learning further disrupts the idea that brains are required for intelligence — plants ‘remember,’ adapt, and negotiate. Peter Wohlleben shows how trees ‘train’ their young and respond to distress signals, implying social behaviour far more complex than mere biology.

What all this reveal is that intelligence is becoming more problematized, more tangled than our Cartesian legacy ever imagined. Before we build artificial consciousness, we must ask: what is consciousness for? If organisms without brains — like plants and fungi — exhibit intelligent behaviour, then perhaps consciousness is not a computational achievement, but an ecological necessity.

Understanding intelligence, then, is not a preliminary step — it is the foundational one. Before adapting to artificial intelligence, we must reckon with what intelligence means across life forms, histories and systems. We must ask not how to build it, but why it arises, and what it serves. Only then can we responsibly approach the task of artificial consciousness — not as engineers of minds, but as students of life’s tangled existence.

Muttaki Bin Kamal is a doctoral candidate in anthropology at the University of Texas at San Antonio.​

 

[Saif]

Youths need to be equipped with entrepreneurial, technical skills in AI-era: Prof Yunus

Chief Adviser Prof Muhammad Yunus has underscored the urgent need for equipping youths with entrepreneurial and technical skills to prepare them for the evolving job market and making contribution to building a modern, developed Bangladesh. In a message issued ahead of World Youth Skills Day (July

thefinancialexpress.com.bd

Youths need to be equipped with entrepreneurial, technical skills in AI-era: Prof Yunus

Published :
Jul 14, 2025 21:00
Updated :
Jul 14, 2025 21:00

Chief Adviser Prof Muhammad Yunus has underscored the urgent need for equipping youths with entrepreneurial and technical skills to prepare them for the evolving job market and making contribution to building a modern, developed Bangladesh.

In a message issued ahead of World Youth Skills Day (July 15), Prof Yunus said skilled manpower is essential for accelerating national development, meeting the demands of a diverse industrial workforce, and increasing Bangladesh’s competitiveness in the global labor market, reports UNB.

The Chief Adviser said the interim government, formed in the wake of the July mass uprising, is committed to transforming youths into valuable national assets by fostering employment and eradicating inequality.

The theme of this year’s World Youth Skills Day is ‘Youth empowerment through AI and digital skills’.

In 2014, the United Nations General Assembly declared July 15 July as World Youth Skills Day, to celebrate the strategic importance of equipping young people with skills for employment, decent work and entrepreneurship.

July 15, 2025 marks the 10th anniversary since World Youth Skills Day (WYSD).

As the Fourth Industrial Revolution reshapes economies through Artificial Intelligence (AI), Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) must evolve to equip youth with future-ready skills. AI is transforming how we live, learn and work, but it also poses serious risks if not implemented equitably, according to the United Nations.

Prof Yunus emphasised that modern technology must be leveraged to convert the country’s youth into skilled professionals, capable of meeting the challenges of a rapidly changing global economy.

He said the government has already undertaken multiple initiatives to provide demand-driven training and create employment opportunities at both domestic and international levels. “Alongside meeting local labor market needs, Bangladesh’s capacity to export skilled manpower will continue to strengthen.”

Prof Yunus also acknowledged the work of the National Skill Development Authority (NSDA), which is collaborating with public and private partners to build a sustainable skill development ecosystem.

“I hope World Youth Skills Day 2025 will significantly raise public awareness and accelerate ongoing efforts in youth empowerment,” Prof Yunus said, extending his best wishes for the success of all related initiatives.​

 

[Saif]

My AI guilt

THERE are certain things in our fast-changing world that occasionally give me a feeling of guilt, if not sinfulness. Artificial intelligence is one of them. This apologia is an account of this uncanny sense of wrongdoing, without seeking redemption.

www.newagebd.net

My AI guilt
by Obaidul Hamid 19 July, 2025, 00:00

THERE are certain things in our fast-changing world that occasionally give me a feeling of guilt, if not sinfulness. Artificial intelligence is one of them. This apologia is an account of this uncanny sense of wrongdoing, without seeking redemption.

I recently attended an international conference on English language education in a well-known Asian city. The conference theme linked the concepts of care, innovation, and sustainability to English teaching, learning and assessment. One highlight of the academic festival was the opening keynote address by a Korean-origin and Stanford-affiliated academic giant who is currently based in China. He is a globe-trotter, giving keynotes and conducting high-tech education research in different parts of the world.

As expected, his keynote was about reshaping the future of English language education with innovation and purpose. It was a superb address which was duly applauded by the audience. Listening to him, I developed a rough sense of where education technology in general and AI in particular currently stand and how technology can revolutionise education and empower every student as a potential innovator of start-up businesses. However, as a tech-unsavvy person, I found the content somewhat overwhelming. It is this occasion that aroused the most recent techno-guilt.

I had such a guilty conscience previously when I attended workshops and/or webinars on technology in other places. I am a slow learner. I am even slower when it comes to technology, data, or science. I usually make sense of the world by words and narratives. Therefore, I often fail to catch up with the pace of talks about the what and how of new technologies, etc.

The keynoter told the audience that the average time f ame for technological innovation hitting the market was now about two weeks. I don’t think I will ever be able to stay updated. I couldn’t have done it even if the time frame had been two years. Like many of my colleagues, I am not left with much spare time to embark on AI hunting after meeting the growing temporal demands of work, family and social life. Academics experiencing ‘time-sickness’ or their battle with time in a neoliberal environment is an apt point made by another speaker at the conference.

Such academic events bring optimal affordances for academics and researchers to master the potential of technologies for their work. However, while I try to engage in learning, I often end up digging my own soul more than internalising the technology know-how shared. And I discover the guilt sitting right in my heart, mind or soul, whatever you call it.

The tech exposure which otherwise provides much-desired learning opportunities makes me feel that I was dumber as an academic, not keeping in touch with what was happening in the world of technology. Specifically, if any presenter asks questions such as ‘Have you used this or that tool or platform?’ they take me back to my primary school days. I feel like I didn’t do my homework assigned by the teacher, or I deserved to be chastised for my carelessness. Certainly, those questions are ways of making learning interactive, but they come to me as reminders of what I should have done but didn’t.

Occasionally, I am also challenged by a critic within myself who reminds me that I was probably wasting my time on less important things. How could I not take technology seriously when it was going to make students smarter than teachers? How could I ignore that I might soon become obsolete, as AI would probably do a better job than me for my students?

The keynote also divided education curriculum into two types: before GenAI and after GenAI. The implied message was an educator couldn’t do a BG curriculum in an AI era. This also led to an inescapable guilt: was I teaching the wrong stuff in my class because it was a BG not an AG curriculum?

My guilt also emits from ideologies of technology that are constructed, reproduced and disseminated for public consumption. These are about the unmatched benefits of technology for all — students, teachers, institutions and societies. One group of beneficiaries who are rarely mentioned are tech capitalists. Their capital hunger that drives tech innovations is something that remains hidden or unmentioned. As I try to discipline myself with these discourses, I extract this principal message: that life can’t be lived or imagined without technology. This then sprouts the guilt in my fossilised learning and teaching self. I accuse myself of thinking I can’t do what others do so easily. I am falling far behind in learning and harnessing technology for my students. They are conquering time and technology while I am wallowing in inaction and laziness. I probably only daydream, without following the demonstrated path to a bright present and a brighter future.

Discourses that normalise technology or innovation often divide people into two groups. One group are enthusiastic and entrepreneurial who learn anytime, anywhere, and keep their learning antenna open to any input or stimuli. The other is regressive and lethargic, wishing the world never changed and things remained the same forever. I will probably be thrown into the second group based on emerging standards and discourses.

I also feel constantly bombarded by new philosophies about life, freedom, and happiness. How technology will empower me, bring the whole world to the touch of my fingers and allow me to be and become whatever or whoever I wished. However, my indolent heart doesn’t want to be stirred. It doesn’t feel incentivised by such promises.

That doesn’t necessarily mean I am a tech-hater. Nor do I think I suffer from technophobia. I do believe in the power of technology and the things that technology can (and can’t) do for us. However, the problem is I can’t force myself to love what I don’t love. My affection for technology stays in the neighbourhood of liking at best; it doesn’t travel farther to the stage of any other stronger positive emotion. I can’t romanticise technology or pretend love for it when I have only an instrumentalist dependence on it. I know there are millions who can go hours with smartphones in their hands. However, this small machine often bores me down. It’s an important tool in life, but I can also live without it, if need be. I know we lived without AI not long ago. We did live without mobile phones just over two decades ago. Many people lived a good life when there were no planes, trains, or automobiles. People also lived meaningful lives even without formal literacy, which to me is the mother of all innovations.

Technology arouses guilt in me because it often tells me, even without saying, that I must embrace it. If I don’t, I deserve to be left behind and forgotten. Its hegemony allows it to exclude someone like me from the new world. This exclusion is not the fault of technology or of the capitalist urge behind it. It’s my own problem, as I don’t seem to move ahead. My techno-guilt may have no redemption.

I don’t assume the reader is a member of the minority tribe that feels subdued by technology. But if you indeed are, you (and I) can’t give up. We can live with the self-focused guilt so long as it doesn’t turn into an atrocity.

Obaidul Hamid is an associate professor at the University of Queensland in Australia. He researches language, education, and society in the developing world. He is a co-editor of Current Issues in Language Planning.​