To Love or Not To Love AI
Written by Mayabee ARANNYA (Bangladesh)
The 5th ASEF Young Leaders Summit (ASEFYLS5) took place from August to December 2023. It focuses on the theme of ‘Leadership & Society 5.0’ and incorporates 3 spheres for youth leadership: 1) self-leadership (you), 2) team leadership (we) and 3) societal leadership (all). The 5th edition was a hybrid project with collaborative elements taking place online and in Salamanca, Spain. Here the author writes about how their perception of AI has changed throughout the past year and through the ASEFYLS5 Programme.
My first proper encounter with artificial intelligence (AI) occurred in June 2023 — yes, I was quite late to the game. It might seem a bit old-fashioned of me, but I viewed the use of generative AI as lazy. Having been a writer at a newspaper for many years, I respect and appreciate the time, energy, and creativity that goes into the writing process; a process that, to me, seemed very “human,” and I wanted it to remain so. However, all that changed when, on a random afternoon in June, I joined a call with Siphiwe May, a social entrepreneur from Johannesburg, South Africa. Siphiwe and I were part of a women’s leadership fellowship and were assigned to discuss ways to support each other’s work. I shared how I had this innovative idea for a mental health initiative but didn’t know where to start with creating a plan. Siphiwe paused and asked bluntly, “Well, have you tried using ChatGPT?” Her words were a wake-up call — a stark reminder that we are in the age of frontier technologies, and the only way not to be left behind in the current world is to make the best use of them.
Scepticism around Society 5.0
Last year, I had the privilege of participating in the 5th ASEF Young Leaders Summit (ASEFYLS5), where young leaders from Asia and Europe came together to discuss the topic of “Society 5.0” — a Japanese concept pertaining to a “human-centered society that balances economic advancement with the resolution of social problems by a system that highly integrates cyberspace and physical space.” We had world-class experts, academics, and diplomats share their thoughts on what this concept could mean for our present and future — can frontier technologies be the solution we have been looking for to address the world’s most pressing challenges?
Frankly, I was sceptical. I’m from Bangladesh, a country where internet penetration stands at 38.9 per cent[1]. We observed the most significant rise in technology access here during the COVID-19 pandemic, when our lives would have come to a halt if not for the use of technology. During the pandemic, I attended two years of university online, watching my more senior professors struggle to adjust to all the new software. During exams, we were asked to write our answers physically on paper, scan them, and upload them for grading — in an effort to fight plagiarism. However, all this did was increase the stress of already burnt-out students, while those who wanted to plagiarise continued doing so with ease. My experience made me question whether technological advancements can really be a solution in every context.
Although my experience at university may make it seem like the older generation struggles most with technological literacy, reality suggests otherwise. According to a UN report from 2022, a staggering 84.9 per cent of youth in Bangladesh lack essential digital skills[2], which include the ability to use and comprehend basic technology and computer functions. My years in school attest to this statistic; my peers and I barely had access to the computer lab in school, and our curriculum only included fundamental computer skills during high school. The lack of technological literacy is distinctly visible if you ever visit Bangladesh. Walk down any busy road in Dhaka city, and you will find countless stores advertising how they help with online applications, such as signing up for national exams, applying for a passport, registering for a national ID, etc. These are all processes that have been digitalised for convenience. Yet, due to the lack of technological literacy, this “solution” has only led to more people having to rely on others to access the most essential services as a citizen.
Taking my own experiences and the state of the Bangladeshi population’s digital skills into consideration, I’ve come to realise that technological advancement can only be a solution if technological literacy can be established first.
During one of our early online sessions as part of ASEFYLS5, Professor Paula Boddington, Associate Professor of Philosophy and Healthcare, School of Biomedical Sciences, University of West London, introduced us to the concept of “technological solutionism” — the assumption that all problems can be solved by technology. When I shared how low the rate of internet access still is in countries like Bangladesh, she shared how, sometimes, low-technology or even no-technology solutions could be more befitting in particular contexts. It transformed how I viewed problem-solving as a leader — the most innovative solutions do not necessarily have to be technological to be the best solution.
As a feminist activist working on adolescent and youth sexual and reproductive health and rights, I am always wary of the dark side of being on the internet. Between 16–58 per cent of women face technology-facilitated gender-based violence[3] Factors such as the anonymity that the internet provides perpetrators and the lack of regulation against cyber-attacks encourage these acts of violence. On the first day of the in-person ASEFYLS5 summit in beautiful Salamanca, Spain, I raised this tricky notion: How do we balance technological advancement and cyber safety? Does it feel like we are taking two steps forward and one step back — creating solutions to certain social issues while making other issues worse? These are questions that I am glad my peers at the summit thought over critically. During our tea break, we discussed how many policymakers in both Asia and Europe often overlook most concerns of gender and gender-based violence, claiming to look at the ‘bigger picture’ of development issues. This applies to regulation being formulated around AI and frontier technologies as well, where cyber safety, especially for women and other gender minorities, has become an afterthought. All the participants in the discussion stressed the importance of bringing forward the topic of gender in every conversation relating to AI and social development to ensure the voices of those affected by or at risk of facing tech-facilitated gender-based violence are not ignored.
Slowly shifting to optimism
The other day, I was listening to The Economist’s podcast called “The Intelligence,” where they were discussing “what AI could mean for the world’s poorest.”[4] The episode showcased the many reasons why AI can effect positive change in the developing world. I agree with some of the points made during the discussion, for example, the fact that AI can work on our existing devices. Technological advancements in the past often begged the need for a fancy new device. However, AI can be integrated into our smartphones, making it widely accessible to many people in developing countries who would otherwise be unable to afford the newest technology. Another point discussed was how — although AI is not perfect — perfection is not always a necessity. In situations where there is a dire need for progress, any kind of advancement is welcome.
My pessimism was again challenged during another one of the online sessions of ASEFYLS5. While speaking to Francesco Mureddu, who holds a Ph.D. in Economics from the University of Cagliari and who is a Senior Director at The Lisbon Council, I shared how the low 38.9 per cent internet access in Bangladesh makes me unsure whether the concept of Society 5.0 can apply to a country like mine. He flipped the question on me and asked me whether I’ve considered how 38.9 per cent of people in my country could benefit positively from technological advancements such as AI. While focusing so narrowly on the low internet penetration rate, I had ignored the fact that 38.9 per cent of the Bangladeshi population meant 66.94 million internet users. If AI can improve the lives of such a vast number of people, how can I remain so sceptical about the value of frontier technologies in the world of social impact?
Dr Mureddu’s question prompted me to dig deeper into the positive impact of technological advancements in Bangladesh. I’ve always been proud of the resilience of the Bangladeshi people and wasn’t surprised when I found the creative solutions some have implemented to tackle the issue of poor internet access. One such example is the social enterprise called Kallyani, where 60 young women are bringing internet and technology to the most rural regions of Bangladesh[5]. The women cycle from village to village, carrying with them smartphones, laptops, tablets, and Wi-Fi hotspots in an effort to help other women become entrepreneurs through the use of technology. This brilliant initiative reminded me of how women in urban areas of Bangladesh are also thriving as entrepreneurs, using platforms such as Facebook to run their businesses. If these women entrepreneurs could harness the power of AI, their business endeavours would potentially grow tenfold.
Moreover, I reflected on how I, myself, belong to the 38.9 per cent of the population in Bangladesh with internet access and the even smaller percentage with technological literacy. Yet, till the summer of 2023, I wilfully ignored the use of AI and refused to explore the positive sides to it. One of my intentions behind applying to ASEFYLS5 was to put myself in a position where my perspectives could be challenged. I wanted to learn about the different ways AI could be useful for my country, my community, and my cause. I wanted the discussions during the programme to defeat my cynicism. Traversing through the entire experience of ASEFYLS5, I realise now that access to such incredible technology as AI, and the education needed to use it, is a privilege, and it would be a shame to take it for granted.
During the programme, I was already thinking of ways AI could support my activism and advocacy: could we use AI chatbots to empower survivors of abuse with life-saving information while allowing anonymity? Could it be used to improve gender-based violence reporting mechanisms? Could it transform the way my activist allies and I disseminate information and mobilise for movements? I plan on finding answers to these questions throughout my continued journey and, hopefully, implementing the best solutions in the years to come. For now, I’m glad I took Siphiwe’s advice and tried using ChatGPT, because it led to a successful pilot of my mental health initiative, an incredible experience at an international summit focusing on Society 5.0, and a mind bursting with ideas for using AI to change the world for the better.
Citations
[1] Saif, Saifuddin. “Internet connection in Bangladeshi households soars almost eightfold in a decade.” The Business Standard, 9 July 2023, https://www.tbsnews.net/bangladesh/telecom/internet-connection-bangladeshi-households-soars-almost-eightfold-decade-662658.
[2] Staff Correspondent. “84.9pc youth in Bangladesh lack basic digital skills: UN.” New Age, 14 July 2022, https://www.newagebd.net/article/175839/849pc-youth-in-bangladesh-lack-basic-digital-skills-un.
[3] Hicks, Jacqueline. Global Evidence on the Prevalence and Impact of Online Gender-based Violence (OGBV). Institute of Development Studies (IDS), Oct. 2021. Crossref, doi:10.19088/k4d.2021.140.
[4] The Economist. The Intelligence: what AI could mean for the world’s poorest. 25 January 2024, https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-intelligence-what-ai-could-mean-for-the-worlds-poorest/id1449631195?i=1000642897467.
[5] Apolitical. “Bangladeshi girls bring the internet by bike.” Apolitical, 28 March 2017, https://apolitical.co/solution-articles/en/bangladeshi-girls-bring-internet-rural-villages-bikes.
Mayabee ARANNYA (Bangladesh) is the Lead of Kotha, a feminist youth-led organisation that fights the root causes of gender-based violence in Bangladesh. Mayabee and her team facilitate Bangladesh’s first fully youth-led comprehensive sexuality education programme. Mayabee is a Global Advisory Board Member of Our Universe Rising. She is the co-author of Bangladesh’s first youthcentred Peer Education Training Manual, winner of the Share-Net International Small Grants. In 2022, she was selected as a LeadNext Fellow: Ambassador for a Global Future by The Asia Foundation. In 2023, she was named a Visionary Leader by Vital Voices and the Estée Lauder Emerging Leaders Fund.
NOTE:
The views and opinions expressed in this article are solely by the author(s) and do not represent that of the Asia-Europe Foundation (ASEF).
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