Bangladesh must invest in artificial intelligence (AI) talent, digital infrastructure and research while strengthening digital sovereignty to remain globally competitive, experts said at a discussion in the capital on Wednesday.
They said the country has a unique opportunity to harness AI to drive sustainable economic growth by leveraging its young workforce, expanding digital infrastructure and implementing ongoing policy reforms.
However, the rapid advancement of AI also poses significant challenges, including data privacy, intellectual property rights, surveillance risks and the potential erosion of human creativity and critical thinking, they noted.
The observations were made at a discussion titled "AI Future for Bangladesh: Challenges and Prospects."
Speakers stressed the need to develop AI skills, integrate AI into high-impact sectors such as agriculture, healthcare, education and industry, and transform Bangladesh's ICT outsourcing sector into a knowledge-based AI services industry capable of competing in global value chains.
They also called for building a robust national AI ecosystem based on research, innovation, digital infrastructure and international collaboration, saying countries that invest strategically in AI today will be better positioned to shape the global economy.
President of the Eelaia Foundation and Honorary Consul of Ireland in Bangladesh Masud Khan said Bangladesh is well placed to transition to an AI-driven economy under the National AI Policy 2026–2030.
He said the country's priorities should include developing AI skills among young people, accelerating AI adoption in key sectors and strengthening the ICT industry to deliver high-value AI services.
Founder and President of the Institute of Strategic Intelligence Prof. Henrik von Scheel described AI as a transformative technology but warned of growing concerns over intellectual property, data ownership and excessive dependence on consumer AI platforms.
He said large language models rely heavily on user-generated information and cannot replace human creativity, intuition or critical thinking.
Senior Diplomat and AI Policy Strategist at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Mohammad Khorshed A. Khastagir said AI is reshaping the concept of sovereignty, making digital infrastructure, data governance and technological capability increasingly important for both national security and economic competitiveness.
He stressed that Bangladesh must become an active contributor to the global AI ecosystem rather than merely a consumer of emerging technologies.
Prof. Dr. Shahab Enam Khan of Jahangirnagar University called for long-term investment in AI research, computing infrastructure and technological sovereignty.
He noted that Bangladesh remains dependent on imported high-performance AI chips and proposed establishing a national GPU infrastructure to support universities, research institutions, government agencies and the private sector.
Executive Director of the Centre for ALTERNATIVES Imtiaz Ahmed emphasised the need for a comprehensive long-term AI strategy, saying AI education and digital literacy should begin at the school level.
Meanwhile, Narinder Singh Sidhu, Senior Vice President (LEAD) of the Institute of Strategic Intelligence, said Bangladesh should not remain a passive consumer of global technologies but instead develop an AI ecosystem that reflects its own societal values.
He expressed hope that the discussion would lead to stronger collaboration among the government, industry and academia to ensure AI development remains inclusive and people-centred.
