DHAKA, July 10, 2024 (BSS) - A national consultation on the country's readiness to ensure safe, reliable, and ethical use of AI was held in the city today, involving all stakeholders, including government officials, development partners, academics, private sector representatives and civil society members.

The ICT Division of Bangladesh, in collaboration with the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and Aspire to Innovate (a2i) organized the event titled 'National Stakeholder Consultation on Assessing AI Readiness of Bangladesh' at Bangladesh Computer Council (BCC) auditorium in ICT Tower here.
 
State Minister for Posts, Telecommunications and Information Technology Zunaid Ahmed Palak addressed the function as the chief guest, said a press release.

ICT Secretary Md. Shamsul Arefin, Cabinet Division's Secretary (coordination and reforms) Md. Mahmudul Hossain Khan, a2i Project Director (additional secretary) and Chief Executive Officer of Agency to Innovate Md Mamunur Rashid Bhuiyan, Ambassador and head of delegation of the European Union in Bangladesh Charles Whiteley, OIC Head of the UNESCO Office in Dhaka Huhua Fan, Deputy Resident Representative of UNDP Bangladesh Sonali Dayaratne and UNESCO Assistant Director-General for Social and Human Sciences Gabriela Ramos spoke at the event, among others.

Speaking on the occasion, Zunaid Ahmed Palak highlighted the challenges posed by AI's transformative potential and put emphasized on a multi-faceted approach to address these challenges.

He also highlighted the importance of AI technologies to help bridge the digital divide and empower all sections of society instead of widening the existing inequalities.

Since Bangladesh is proactively embracing AI to drive innovation and achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the press release said, the government is working on capacity building, developing regulatory frameworks, and promoting policies and programmes that can drive ethical development, design, and deployment of AI technologies.

The event was featured by an open discussion where representatives from government offices, development partners, academics, private sector representatives and civil society members discussed topic in detail.