In the cold, old days of the Roman Empire, there was a tale of a young and ambitious senator named Lucius Quintus, who made an audacious gamble. He convinced the Emperor that Rome could conquer Germania, a land infamous for its unconquerable forests and fierce warriors. Quintus claimed to have a secret weapon: a “whispering oracle,” a device of mysterious origin that could predict enemy movements. The Emperor, captivated by the promise of such an advantage, gave him a legion to prove his worth.
The oracle, it turned out, was nothing more than a clever illusion—a mix of staged predictions and Quintus’s knack for reading people. Initially, his theatrics worked. The legion won a string of victories, emboldening the Empire and striking terror into Germania. But when a sudden ambush caught them unprepared, Quintus’s fraud was laid bare. His overreliance on the “oracle” had blinded him to the complexity of the terrain and the cunning of his foes. The campaign collapsed into chaos, and Quintus fled, his name remained synonymous with arrogance and deceit.
Lucius Quintus’s tale offers a stark parallel to the modern race for Artificial Intelligence (AI). Just as Quintus overpromised on a false innovation, nations today risk placing blind faith in AI without fully understanding its intricacies or consequences. The stakes, however, are far greater. AI is no mere illusion; it is a force with the power to reshape geopolitics, offering immense potential while posing unprecedented risks.
Artificial Intelligence today is not just a tool; it is the molten core reshaping geopolitics and geoeconomics, offering a feast of opportunities but also setting the stage for dire risks. The United States and China, like modern gladiators, are locked in a duel for AI supremacy, pouring resources into integrating AI into national security, economic strategies, and technological ecosystems. This rivalry has sparked heated debates over intellectual property rights and strict export controls, raising international tensions to fever pitch. For poorer, densely populated nations like Bangladesh, the specter of this race looms large, threatening to widen the already yawning digital and economic divides.
Yes, AI is the elixir of productivity and innovation, driving revolutions in industries ranging from autonomous vehicles to precision medicine. But countries in the Global South face hurdles that make this elixir feel like a mirage. The World Economic Forum calls it the ‘AI divide,’ a chasm that leaves nations with underdeveloped technological infrastructure and scant investment struggling to catch up. In places like Bangladesh, AI holds the tantalizing promise of leapfrogging traditional development stages. Imagine precision farming transforming agriculture or AI diagnosing diseases in remote villages. However, without strategic policies and investments, this promise remains frustratingly out of reach. Even as efforts in agriculture and textiles inch forward, the gulf between ambition and capability persists.
Meanwhile, the militarization of AI has turned defense strategies into an entirely new arena of contest. Autonomous drones, tanks, and ships are rewriting the rules of warfare, reducing human involvement while unleashing thorny ethical dilemmas. Cyber warfare is an equally treacherous frontier, with AI supercharging both offensive and defensive capabilities. For nations like Bangladesh, this militarization presents a double bind: limited access to advanced AI technologies leaves them vulnerable, while dependence on foreign-developed systems undermines sovereignty. The geopolitical inequalities these dynamics foster is as dangerous as they are glaring.
Diplomacy, too, is being upended by AI’s transformative touch. Predictive analytics, real-time translations, and sentiment analysis are turning diplomatic maneuvering into something that feels closer to a data-driven chess game. Global international relations think tanks are focusing on how AI can model intricate diplomatic situations, assisting countries in predicting international crises and fine-tuning their reactions. However, for nations with limited AI infrastructure, particularly in the Global South, these tools remain frustratingly inaccessible. Imagine negotiating a trade deal or climate agreement armed with these capabilities—it’s a game-changer. But without the foundational investments in AI infrastructure, this remains a distant dream for many.
The ethical minefield of AI governance is where things get particularly precarious. The absence of universally accepted norms on issues like autonomous weapons or surveillance practices creates a Wild West landscape, with major powers pulling in different directions. AI’s misuse—whether for surveillance by authoritarian regimes or through biased decision-making—threatens to exacerbate inequalities and erode human rights. Bangladesh’s National Strategy for Artificial Intelligence must be in the right direction, aiming to address these concerns. But navigating the labyrinth of global AI governance will require active collaboration to ensure that ethical standards are more than just lofty aspirations.
AI is also a double-edged sword in the realm of global security. Its predictive powers can help model and preempt conflicts, opening doors for timely humanitarian interventions. But as AI-powered cyberattacks grow more sophisticated, the risks of destabilising economies and critical infrastructures skyrocket. Bangladesh, with its limited cybersecurity resources, stands particularly vulnerable, caught in the crosshairs of a technology it has yet to harness. This vulnerability underscores the urgent need for investment in cybersecurity measures that can withstand the onslaught of AI-driven threats.
The global AI race is, in many ways, a sprint toward widening inequality. Advanced economies, with their vast resources and cutting-edge technologies, are leveraging AI to cement their dominance. This new form of digital colonialism risks turning less technologically advanced nations into mere consumers of foreign technologies, perpetuating economic and political dependencies. However, there is a glimmer of hope. Strategic investments in education, infrastructure, and ethical AI practices could enable countries like Bangladesh to harness AI’s potential for inclusive development. AI-driven agricultural and disaster management solutions, for instance, could revolutionize resilience and productivity, as the World Bank notes.
Bangladesh’s economy stands at a junction where AI could become a game-changer. With targeted efforts in textiles, healthcare, defence, and agriculture, the country could unlock new efficiencies and innovations. Developing AI systems tailored to local languages and cultures would amplify these benefits, turning linguistic diversity into a geopolitical asset. However, infrastructure gaps, skill shortages, and limited R&D investments are roadblocks that cannot be ignored. Addressing ethical concerns, such as data privacy and algorithmic fairness, will also be key to ensuring that AI’s benefits are equitably distributed.
The unfolding AI revolution is both an opportunity and a warning. While it offers unprecedented tools for economic growth, security, and diplomacy, it also threatens to entrench existing inequalities, leaving countries in the Global South scrambling to catch up. The stakes are enormous, and the clock is ticking.
And so, we return to the forgotten tale of Lucius Quintus, who believed in the illusion of easy triumph and paid the price for his hubris. The tale of his failure reminds us that the race for dominance—whether in Germania or Artificial Intelligence—is not won by bluster but by strategy, foresight, and collaboration. The question is, will we heed the warning, or will the AI age script its own war?
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Rajeev Ahmed
The Editor of Geopolits.com and the Author of the book titled Bengal Nexus
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