There is no gainsaying the fact that the information technology is the new driver of world economy. Computers have come a long way from being smart calculators and number crunchers. Internet, which made all human knowledge accessible to anyone at any moment, has also immensely increased the power of the digital machines that process information. And the modern digital machines are learning faster than humans and competing with human intellect. It is something that humanity never experienced before.
Digital technology on which the modern information age hinges can be compared to the steam engine that ushered in the early industrial age--the first industrial revolution. In fact, digital technology has started a new revolution in human society.
Bangladesh, which is still a Least Developed Country (LDC), though working hard to graduate to the middle-income economy, needs to ask itself what that middle or still higher income economy that the country is striving to attain does actually imply. Obviously, it will have to be an economy where digital technology will play a bigger rolein its growth than it is doing at the moment. So, how far has the country progressed in that direction?
According to the World Bank, digital economy makes up more than 15 per cent of the global GDP and has grown 2.5 times faster over the previous ten years than the GDP of the physical world.But an estimate by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) reportedly said that in five years between 2016 and 2021, the digital sector's contribution to Bangladesh's total GDP was below 3 per cent. In that case, the government has to reset its policy on the digital sector. Thetarget of achieving Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030will obviously require the digital sector to play its due role.
There is talk of carrying out all transactions digitally, making financial transactions cashless. That is no doubt a great idea. But the question is should the country forever depend on imported digital products including programs or software to provide digital service to theeconomy? And is that all about the digital economy? However, it is not being suggested here that one has to reinvent the wheel. Digital technology has advanced too far to begin everything from scratch. Even so, the nation cannot ignore the need for conducting research and development in the field of digital technology. In modern context, the yardstick of a nation's advancement is its digital edge over its competitors. At the moment,for example, Artificial Intelligence (AI) is defining the frontiers of digital technology. Hence is the competition between the West led by the USA and China over achieving superiority in the research and development of AI. The competition over AI reminds one of thecompetitionbetween the Cold War era superpowers to gain superiority over nuclear technology. But the difference here is that other than its destructive power in the form of nuclear bomb, the nuclear technology could not turn into a technology of everyday use. But AI is perhaps a different story altogether. It is already experiencing widespread use. Moreover, AI is not a different technology than the kind of digital technology in everyday use.
However, there is no question here of our entering any competition to surpass others in digital race. But then there is at least no harm in trying to attain some degree of self-sufficiency in digital technology. To that end, the government as well as the private sector would do well to invest more in research and development in the digital sector of the economy.
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