As AI, climate change and geopolitics fuel a global storm of technological change, Bangladesh must decide what to build – literally, not figuratively. File visual: Salman Saqib Shahryar
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As AI, climate change and geopolitics fuel a global storm of technological change, Bangladesh must decide what to build – literally, not figuratively. File visual: Salman Saqib Shahryar
There is a saying that goes, “When the winds of change blow, some build walls and others build windmills.” As AI, climate change, and geopolitics increasingly fuel the storm of global technological transformation, Bangladesh must decide what to build, not figuratively but literally: infrastructure, institutions, and interoperability. These are essential to delivering better jobs, resilient growth and national relevance in a digitally reordered world.
Remarkably, the country has seen a wave of infrastructure and legal improvements in recent years. Grameenphone and Robi turned on 5G in September 2025. The SEA-ME-WE6 cable system has a total design capacity of approximately 126 terabytes per second (Tbps) and is expected to be ready for service in 2026. State-owned operator Bangladesh Submarine Cable PLC crossed 4 Tbps of international live bandwidth in August 2025. Rooftop solar is finally expanding, and Bain’s 2025 technology analysis highlights how the world is reshaping itself around AI agents, trusted computing, and data sovereignty. The question is no longer “Does this affect us?” But “How ready are you to develop it?”
For all the latest news, follow The Daily Star’s Google News channel. Consider power. Bain estimates that AI computing alone will increase global power demand to 200 GW by 2030, requiring nearly $500 billion annually in new data center investments. Bangladesh is building small but meaningful bricks. But the challenge lies in scale and smart integration. Can our energy strategies clearly link AI power demands to renewable energy, efficiency benchmarks, and transparent performance reporting? This is how we move from promise to green computing.
Connectivity is evolving and the backbone of our digital infrastructure is becoming stronger. However, resiliency requires more than just speed; it also requires redundancy. If one cable breaks, will the country’s bandwidth also collapse?Bangladesh’s digital future therefore also depends on backup routes.
Within companies, AI has become a proactive, program-wide system. Bane warns against chasing isolated victories. The greater value lies in rewiring the entire workflow. Controlled trials show that developers using GitHub Copilot completed tasks 55.8% faster. However, faster coding is only important if it reduces delivery time or improves quality. Procurement must also evolve, specifying outcome-based KPIs such as time to cash and first pass yield, and requiring open agent interfaces to allow vendors to compete within the same workflow.
Next comes trust. The Cybersecurity Ordinance 2025 has been gazetted and the draft Personal Data Protection Ordinance 2025 (PDPO) has been approved. We need a sensible intermediate path to store sensitive personal data within Bangladesh while using global cloud services with clear rules and oversight. There is a need to balance trust and connectivity, especially in healthcare, banking and exports. Striking a balance is now a central challenge in policy design.
Large systems require large amounts of capital. Citigroup predicted that AI-related infrastructure spending by tech giants will exceed $2.8 trillion by 2029. On the ground, Bangladesh secured $650 million from the World Bank for the Bay Terminal as part of an $850 million package signed in April 2025 to modernize trade and social protection. What’s next is targeted seed funding – public and private investment in backup cable stations, efficient data centers and AI-enabled export projects – to demonstrate seriousness and attract private capital.
Technical standards may sound boring, but they form the backbone of the digital economy. Those who control the connection control the value. Google and Anthropic are developing systems to bring different AI tools together, Microsoft is building such capabilities into Windows 11, and Google is extending it to payments. This also applies to Bangladesh, as our work spans banks, ports, factories and government offices. To avoid dependence on a single vendor, large buyers and public authorities must demand interoperable systems, systems that can be swapped out when better options emerge.
Finally, there is export. Competing with “cheap code” no longer works when software can create software. Consultancy McKinsey & Company estimates the global impact of generative AI to be between $2.6 trillion and $4.4 trillion annually. Rather than selling labor time, winners encode domain insights into agent workflows. With the launch of 5G, the pending development of a third undersea route, Bay Terminal financing, rooftop solar expansion, and more, Bangladesh can tell a credible story if its energy, networks, and regulations are aligned with how agent systems actually work.
Experts have suggested the need for accelerated nationwide ‘AI skills for export’ bootcamps covering rapid engineering, AI-assisted moderation, curation and data management. This helps employees move from data entry to more valuable AI-enhanced services. Freelancers are already branching out into 3D modeling and complex lighting. The infrastructure already exists. What is missing is the execution to turn intentions into export revenues.
Many companies may abandon AI experiments within two years because they are not profitable. That’s no reason to wait. If we become known for stable power, resilient networks, and trusted governance, we won’t just ride the wave. We can help navigate that.
Nazmus Sadat Sustainability and circular economy expert and former USIP Generational Change Fellow.
The views expressed in this article are the author’s own.
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