Manzur Rahman is Professor Emeritus of Finance at the University of San Diego.
History is filled with lessons of how not to escalate wars and perhaps even avoid them; we have now known for decades what we need to do to limit and perhaps even reverse anthropogenic climate change; and the supernova of AI can be regulated to fit and work for human dignity and agency
Society needs a new compact to rein in the empire of corporate giants. This is as true for Bangladesh as it is for the rest of the world. Else we will all descend into the servitude of a new feudal system headed by giant corporations and the handful of their beneficiaries.
AI has and may usher in many wonderful opportunities and possibilities. But, at the same time, AI may be the last nail in the coffin of that glorious era where a broad-based social mobility achieved through higher education brought about greater economic and political equality.