National AI Report - Building a Fair, Inclusive, and Culturally Accurate AI Ecosystem for Bangladesh

Artificial Intelligence is becoming a central force in shaping global development, governance, and economic opportunity. However, as AI models expand across South Asia, they often fail to represent the unique cultural, linguistic, and social realities of countries like Bangladesh and Pakistan.

A common example is AI image-generation bias, where prompts about “South Asian people” frequently produce visuals influenced by Indian, Punjabi, or Sikh cultural features, even when the prompt refers specifically to Bangladesh or Pakistan. This is not just a technical issue—it is a challenge for cultural representation, digital sovereignty, and national identity in the age of AI.

To address these challenges, Bangladesh should adopt a comprehensive national strategy focusing on accuracy, fairness, governance, innovation, and inclusion.

1. Establish a National AI Dataset for Bangladesh

AI models only perform well when they are trained on balanced, representative datasets.
Bangladesh must create:

• A National Cultural Dataset (faces, clothing, festivals, rural/urban life, livelihood patterns, landscapes).

• A Bangla Language Dataset including dialects from Barishal, Sylhet, Noakhali, Rangpur, Chattogram, etc.

• A Heritage & History Dataset representing architecture, agriculture, climate realities, and traditional arts.

This will prevent misrepresentation such as:

• Showing Sikh or Gujarati imagery when asked to depict Bangladeshi people.

• Using Indian cultural markers (bindis, turbans, saris) for all “South Asian” prompts.

• Incorrect linguistic outputs mixing Hindi or Urdu with Bangla.

Goal: Build culturally accurate, decolonized, and sovereign AI models.

2. Develop Bangladesh’s Own Foundational AI Models

Instead of relying only on foreign models, Bangladesh needs:

• Bangla LLMs (Large Language Models)

• Bengali Text-to-Image models

• Government-trained climate, agriculture, health, and education AI models

• AI assistants for public services and rural development

This will reduce dependency and allow customization for national priorities.

3. Form a National AI Ethics, Transparency & Safeguards Council

AI must be safe, fair, and accountable.
A national council should:

• Oversee AI fairness, bias detection, and representational accuracy

• Create standards to prevent cultural distortion and stereotyping

• Set ethical guidelines for government, industry, and startups

• Monitor harmful uses (deepfakes, misinformation, hate speech)

Bangladesh must ensure AI reflects human rights, national values, and constitutional principles.

4. Invest in AI Workforce & Youth Capacity

A strong AI future requires skilled young people.

Bangladesh should expand:

• AI education in schools and colleges

• Youth training on prompt engineering, machine learning, robotics, data science

• National internships with government, UNDP, and private companies

• Startup incubators and AI innovation funds

This ensures young people—not foreign corporations—lead Bangladesh’s AI future.

5. Promote AI for Sustainable Development

AI should support Bangladesh’s national priorities:

Climate resilience

• Flood prediction

• Cyclone impact modelling

• Early warning systems

Agriculture

• Pest detection

• Soil analysis

• Climate-smart farming support

Healthcare

• AI screening

• Telemedicine diagnostics

Education

• Personalized learning

• Rural digital inclusion

Bangladesh should frame AI as a tool for SDGs, not just commercial technology.

6. Protect National Identity in Global AI Models

Bangladesh should work with global AI companies to:

• Correct representational errors

• Create accurate South Asian demographic profiles

• Ensure Bangladesh is distinctly recognized, not generalized under India

• Advocate for fair dataset inclusion at regional and UN levels

This protects cultural dignity and ensures Bangladesh is visible in global AI systems.

7. Encourage AI Governance Collaboration

Bangladesh should collaborate with:

• UNDP, UNESCO, ITU for global AI standards

• Regional partners (Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bhutan) for South Asian datasets

• Private sector innovators for responsible deployment

• Academia & research councils for ethical AI development

Shared learning strengthens national and regional resilience.

For Bangladesh, AI is not only a technology—it is a matter of digital sovereignty, cultural representation, national identity, and sustainable development.

By investing in ethical governance, youth leadership, national datasets, and culturally accurate AI, Bangladesh can position itself as a responsible and innovative leader in South Asia.

This requires collaboration between:

• Government

• Development partners

• Academia

• Private innovators

• Youth leaders and activists

Together, Bangladesh can build an AI future that is fair, inclusive, accurate, and aligned with national values.