Developing inclusive and people-centred AI and digital policies 

2023

Public Comments on White House Office of Science and Technology Policy on National AI Priorities

Team: Shahzeb Mahmood, Sabhanaz Rashid Diya, Sheikh Waheed Baksh, Abdullah Hasan Safir and Theodora Skeadas 

Synopsis: In our commentary, we mentioned considerations in the governance of AI, and the role of U.S. to accelerate international cooperation for ethical, inclusive and responsible AI. Specifically, we stress the impact of AI on low- and middle-income countries (“Global Majority”) and propose necessary safeguards to ensure the benefits of AI are equitable with design and governance as essential levers. We outline key takeaways below. 

The full comments are available here. 

Public Comments on the paper: Safe and Responsible AI released by the Government of Australia

Team: Shahzeb Mahmood, Sabhanaz Rashid Diya and Abdullah Hasan Safir 

Synopsis: In our commentary, we suggested that designing AI technologies must respond to socio-technically situated plurality, which means that designers and developers need to care about the situations of the individuals whose lives are going to be affected by such designs. We also recommended that AI systems operating in Australia should incorporate safety by design and privacy by design to reduce likely harms to minors, consistent with the concerns raised by the eSafety Commissioner of Australia. 

The full comments are available here. 

2021

The Future of Digital in Bangladesh

Team: Dr. Zulkarin Jahangir, Abdullah Hasan Safir, and Shamael Ahmed 

Project Synopsis: The Digital Pathways of Initiative of University of Oxford identified clear opportunities for developing countries to harness technological change through years of research, analysis and dialogue. The commission has developed a Digital Economy Kit that provides a framework for countries to get digitally ready. Building on the work and networks of the initiative, we brought together relevant stakeholders in Bangladesh to craft a strategy primer reflects the shared vision for the digital future of the country. We partnered with Access to Information Programme, ICT Division in this regard. 

Find Bangladesh Case study in Oxford microsite.


Project Outcomes:

A Digital Readiness Assessment report, The Future of Digital in Bangladesh, which analyzed the relevant readiness conditions of the digital economy in Bangladesh and identified major areas of economic opportunities that Bangladesh may be able to tap into and scale up as a result of the technological innovation and developments. 

A Strategy Primer, the final outcome of the overall process which identifies the collaborative actions that need to be taken to make Bangladesh thrive in the digital economy, and by whom, to provide a sense of quick wins, medium-term priorities, and long-term roles distributed across the stakeholders. We emphasized on Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) and Information Technology Enabled Services (ITeS) sectors, the continued integration of digital payments and development of platforms to connect informal workers to the formal economy, as well as the creation of a vibrant innovation ecosystem for digital entrepreneurs looking to address challenges in Bangladesh in the document. 

The Primer was launched on April 5, 2021. The event was attended by the Chief Guest is Mr Zunaid Ahmed Palak MP, Honourable State Minister, ICT Division, along with Mr Bikarna Kumar Ghosh, Additional Secretary, ICT Division and our Guest of Honour, Dr Stefan Dercon, Professor, Blavatnik School of Government at the University of Oxford and Development Policy Advisor to the Foreign Secretary, FCDO. Mr M Musharraf Hossain Bhuiyan, Former Cabinet Secretary, Government of Bangladesh and Senior Advisor, BIGD will be moderating the event, followed by closing remarks from Dr Imran Matin, Executive Director, BIGD .


To watch the launching video click here.

2020

Last Mile Experience of Mobile Financial Services during Covid-19 

Team: Dr. Zulkarin Jahangir, Abdullah Hasan Safir, Md. Saiful Islam, Semab Rahman

Synopsis: The proportion of Mobile Financial Services (MFS) account holders have been significantly increasing worldwide, but the COVID-19 pandemic globally has encouraged people to use online and mobile channels for their daily financial activities more than ever before. As a part of BIGD's Rapid Research Response (RRR) program, we conducted a large-scale survey particularly in COVID-19 context to see the current state practices of Government to People (G2P) cash transfer through Mobile Financial Services (MFS), and identified the existing bottlenecks in the ecosystem to further streamline the overall process and maximize opportunities. The findings from the survey reflects on some critical issues at the interactions of people, MFS agents and the Union Digital Centre (UDC) entrepreneurs within the G2P cash transfer ecosystem in Bangladesh.

Download Research Presentation Slides from here.

We presented our findings on October 4, 2020. Anir Chowdhury, Policy Advisor, Access to Information (a2i); Mizanur Rashid, Chief Commercial Officer, Bkash; Maria May, Senior Program Officer, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation; Khondoker Shakhawat Ali, Executive Editor, Protichinta; Greg Chen, Policy Lead, CGAP; and Mehnaz Rabbani, Lead, Research, Policy and Governance (RPG), BIGD were present at the online event.

Press Coverage: