Policy Residency

This year's Residency examined how Bangladesh can govern AI-enabled digital government services in a way that promotes both inclusion and economic growth. Their policy brief, "Inclusion in Practice: Governing AI-Enabled Service Delivery in Bangladesh," explores how Bangladesh's new government has a window of opportunity to build a rights-based, context-sensitive model of digital governance rooted in accountability, transparency, and equity.

The research highlights how AI-enabled services risk deepening structural inequalities for digitally underrepresented communities, the critical role informal access brokers play in building trust and adoption, and the dangers of relying on imported, foreign-built AI models.

The brief puts forward three core recommendations:

• Mandatory Algorithmic Impact Assessments across public systems and high-risk private actors

• A procurement standard requiring government AI systems to operate fluently in Bangla and minority languages

• Formal frameworks to leverage informal access brokers for community adoption.