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Hailing the government initiative to draft the National Artificial Intelligence (AI) Policy 2024, Transparency International Bangladesh (TIB) and Article Nineteen have also expressed concern over the non-inclusion of civil rights and civil society organisations earlier in the drafting and review process of the policy.
At the same time, the two international organisations also expressed dismay at the neglect of human rights and good governance organisations in the April 3 discussion on the draft AI policy, said a joint statement of the TIB and Article Nineteen on Wednesday.
They also called for the involvement of all stakeholders, including civil rights organisations, at every stage of national AI policy formulation.
The statement said the draft of the artificial intelligence policy has been made keeping in mind the experiences of different countries focused on artificial intelligence.
“In the context of Bangladesh, government services, governance and judicial systems, telecommunications, data governance, surveillance, etc. have been emphasised, but the multifaceted impact of this policy on the country's citizens has not been clearly discussed,” it said.
The drafting process neglected to involve any individual or organisation working on civil rights, it added.
While encouraging the mention of rule of law and human rights in Article 3.6 as part of the draft principles, the organisations express concerns that no emphasis has been given to the rule of law and human rights issues in terms of priority areas, implementation methods, and challenges addressed in the policy.
They also termed it ‘dangerous and unacceptable’.
As per the draft National Artificial Intelligence (AI) Policy 2024, an independent National Artificial Intelligence Center will be established with relevant departments and agencies, the statement said, adding that it has also been said in the organisation 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, it mentioned.
As a result, as the question remains about the independence of this council, in the same way, the issue of human rights or all protections, including citizens' information, becomes secondary, said the statement.
In this context, the National Artificial Intelligence (AI) Policy 2024 calls for the development of a time-bound mechanism for reviewing and drafting the policy, involving representatives of civil rights organisations, including experts, at every stage of the policy-making process, and the formation of an AI Advisory Council, as called for by the TIB and Article Nineteen.
Besides hacking, spamming as well as spreading false or fake information, creating fake videos, AI has a wide scope for criminal activities or state surveillance, said the statement.
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 provides for introduction of surveillance system through artificial intelligence, it added.
Although the creation of this surveillance system is primarily for the sake of national security, it may create the risk of establishing a 'police state' through the analysis of citizen data and state surveillance, according to the statement.
Mentioning that there is also the fear that the government is admitting to surveillance of its citizens by enacting a policy, which is a clear violation of human rights, the organisations called for the draft to be geared towards ensuring the rule of law and human rights.