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The country’s first national Artificial Intelligence Readiness Assessment Report was launched on Thursday to guide the nation’s adoption of AI to protect rights, promote inclusion and strengthen public institutions. 

The Information and Communication Technology Division, a2i, UNESCO and UNDP Bangladesh jointly released the report at an event at the ICT Tower in the capital.

In November 2021, UNESCO’s 193 member states unanimously approved the Recommendation on the Ethics of Artificial Intelligence to ensure the development and use of AI to maximise benefits and minimise risks.

To facilitate practical application and to evaluate the country’s preparedness to adopt ethical AI practices, the readiness assessment mechanism or RAM was launched in Bangladesh in November 2024 by the ICT Division and UNESCO, in collaboration with a2i and UNDP.

The RAM Report consisted of eight key sections and provided a comprehensive picture of Bangladesh’s institutional, legal, social and technical preparedness for AI. 

Regarding the legal and regulatory aspects, the report stated that Bangladesh had a draft National AI Policy, which was currently under review and that the AI readiness report’s findings aimed to strengthen the draft policy, with a focus on ensuring equitable and inclusive development.

Moreover, Bangladesh has an extensive Right to Information Act and has recently adopted the Personal Data Protection Ordinance, 2025, along with the Cyber Security Ordinance, gazetted in May 2025.

Regarding economic preparedness, the report said that some start-ups in Bangladesh were working on developing their own AI systems, including large language models trained in Bengali.

However, the report said that Bangladesh had only a 0.2 per cent share of global high-tech exports and data on the extent of private investment in AI were currently unavailable; the AI start-up ecosystem, while showing promise, was still at an early stage of growth.

The report discussed the preparedness of the key sections, including the national AI landscape diagnosis, social and cultural readiness, scientific and educational capacity, technical and infrastructural strength, the development of a national multi-stakeholder roadmap and the associated policy recommendations.

The report demonstrated some progress, but there persisted a lack of preparedness to adopt AI.

The UNESCO report recommended finalising an inclusive and enabling AI policy, strengthening data protection and cybersecurity ordinance.

The report also recommended establishing a central office for AI governance, data protection and cybersecurity; an AI certification committee; community-level institutions for AI learning and inclusion; and enhancing public awareness of AI.

It urged development of AI-centric curricula, research and development, infrastructure and upskilling a future-ready workforce.

In his speech as chief guest, Faiz Ahmad Taiyeb, special assistant to the chief adviser on the ICT Division, said that the assessment arrived at a pivotal moment. 

‘Bangladesh is entering an AI-driven era where decisions taken now would shape society for decades. This report gives us a picture of where we stand and what we must prioritise so that AI strengthens public institutions, not replaces human judgment and protects citizens instead of exploiting them,’ he added.

Shish Haider Chowdhury, secretary of the ICT Division, said that the report was valuable for ongoing policy work, particularly as Bangladesh moved towards finalising its National AI Policy.

He stressed that policy-making must be grounded in evidence rather than assumptions and noted that the RAM findings would support clear rules, stronger coordination among institutions and practical safeguards so that AI used in public services remains explainable, accountable and consistent with national values.

In her remarks, Susan Vize, head of office and UNESCO representative to Bangladesh, said that the RAM Report was both ‘a mirror and a roadmap.’

‘A mirror reflecting progress and remaining challenges in governance, infrastructure, digital inclusion and data ecosystems and a roadmap pointing to concrete priorities,’ she added.

She said that Bangladesh had taken an important step towards ensuring that AI advances human rights, dignity, and sustainability.

The RAM findings offer clear areas for action, from strengthening data protection and cybersecurity, to developing high-quality datasets in Bangla and minority languages, to ensuring girls and women can participate fully in AI education and the future workforce, she said

The UNESCO remains a committed partner in this journey, she added.

Stefan Liller, resident representative of the UNDP Bangladesh, said that whether AI narrows or widens gaps would depend on the choices countries make now.

‘Strengthening connectivity, skills, data, and compute infrastructure, building trustworthy regulatory and governance frameworks, and tailoring AI strategies to national capacity will all play a decisive role,’ he added.

He also said that Bangladesh had shown early leadership by adopting UNESCO’s Recommendations on the Ethics of AI and by engaging multiple stakeholders to shape its AI future in line with human rights, equity and good governance.

Md Abdur Rofiq, project director of a2i, and Michal Kreja, head of development cooperation, Delegation of the European Union to Bangladesh, also spoke at the event.