This may be the fear of the end. This technology has risks, but the opportunities it presents should not be ignored. AI can be a transformative tool for wealth creation and public service delivery in developing countries.
Many liken the discovery of AI to Prometheus stealing fire from the gods. Just as fire can be used for cooking or arson, depending on who gets it, AI can be as “good” or “bad” as the humans using it.
In my country, Bangladesh, I have seen firsthand how AI, when used correctly, can save and change lives. These successes can and should be replicated around the world.
For example, at the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic, Bangladesh had only one RT-PCR laboratory capable of using reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction technology, which is used to detect coronaviruses. In a country of 175 million people, this was no small problem.
However, by reusing the country's toll-free national helpline, we were able to get people to self-report their symptoms. By feeding this information into an AI algorithm, they were able to effectively track and manage the disease during his first four months.
Beyond COVID-19, the impact on healthcare could be revolutionary. For example, in Bangladesh, where there are 5 doctors per 10,000 people, we found that AI can be used to significantly reduce the administrative burden on doctors.
One notable example is a pregnancy monitoring app that ensures the safety and health of pregnant women and newborns by keeping all information about diseases and treatments in one place online.
Similarly, in education, AI could be used to provide tailored learning and summative assessment to individual students. With the Noipunno initiative, by automating the assessment creation process, he created over 2 million digital report cards, significantly reducing the burden on teachers and promoting transparency in education.
Will AI be a silver bullet?Bangladesh shows that frugal innovation can also work
Will AI be a silver bullet?Bangladesh shows that frugal innovation can also work
With over 500,000 teachers and nearly 5 million students, Noipunno supports real-time monitoring, tracks attendance, and ensures student growth while reducing pressure on teachers.
But one of the most exciting AI developments we've seen so far is increasing digital literacy and narrowing the digital divide. In today's online world, digital literacy equals power. The power to own land, run a business, send money abroad, communicate, participate in politics, and receive public services.
However, acquiring digital literacy skills can be very difficult, especially for people in rural areas. Here we see that AI offers another avenue that can even leapfrog the need for traditional digital literacy skills.
That's because AI tools are increasingly available that allow people to talk directly to computer systems, eliminating the need for word processing skills, for example. For example, we have shown that AI can be used to help rural residents apply for land registration or identity documents by simply speaking into a phone, instead of filling out numerous online forms.
This is truly an opportunity. We are seeing that AI can provide a meaningful route for traditionally marginalized voices to be heard, digitized and included. However, this development is still in its early stages.
Rare UN agreement on AI is a good start, but more cooperation is key
Rare UN agreement on AI is a good start, but more cooperation is key
That's why I was delighted to see the UN's Governance AI for Humanity report shine a spotlight on voices from the Global South. Digital literacy has traditionally been a driver of power asymmetries. Today, we know that we have the potential to reverse that trend by focusing on AI literacy. But that will only happen if marginalized voices from the Global South have a seat at the table.
Mr. Anil Chowdhury is a policy advisor for the A2I program in the ICT and Cabinet departments of the Government of Bangladesh, supported by UNDP.