Transparency International Bangladesh (TIB) and Article Nineteen welcomed the initiative to draft the ‘National Artificial Intelligence (AI) Policy-2024’. In addition, the two organizations issued a statement on Wednesday, April 3, calling for the involvement of all stakeholders, including civil rights organizations, at every step of formulating a national Artificial Intelligence (AI) policy. However, on Thursday, the ICT Division has invited the relevant parties to this draft law in a multilateral meeting.
While welcoming the drafting initiative, the TIB and Article Nineteen have expressed concern that no organizations working on civil rights and the rule of law were involved earlier in the drafting and review process. At the same time, they also expressed disappointment over the neglect of organizations working on human rights and good governance in the discussions held on April 3 on the draft AI policy.
In a joint statement, the two organizations said that the draft of the artificial intelligence policy was mainly done keeping in mind the experience of different countries in the field of artificial intelligence. In the context of Bangladesh, government services, governance and judicial system, telecommunications, data governance, surveillance, etc. have been emphasized, but there is no clear discussion about the multi-faceted impact of this policy on the citizens of the country.
They also said that the drafting process neglected to involve any person or organization working on civil rights.
The TIB and Article Nineteen express concern that the implementation process and challenges have not been given due consideration for the rule of law and human rights. Which is dangerous and unacceptable.
According to the draft AI Policy 2024, an independent National Artificial Intelligence Center will be established with relevant departments and agencies. It has also been said in the organization to form the National AI Advisory Council. But almost all the members of this council, including the advisor, chairman, are representatives of various government agencies. As a result, as the question remains about the independence of this council, in the same way, the issue of protection including human rights or citizens’ information becomes secondary.
In this context, the TIB and Article Nineteen called for the creation of a time-bound mechanism for reviewing the AI Policy 2024 draft and policy formulation, involving experts and representatives of civil rights organizations in the formation of an AI Advisory Council at each stage of the policy formulation process.
In addition to the new draft law, there is scope for widespread use of AI in criminal activities such as hacking, spamming as well as spreading false or fake information, creating fake videos, or state surveillance. As a result, it can become a threat to the protection of personal information of citizens, privacy issues. Clause 4.2.6 of the draft policy mentions the introduction of surveillance system through artificial intelligence.
