Artificial intelligence (AI) is shaping the world of work and shaping the whole employment sector rapidly. Youths globally must equip themselves with future skills, and it was reflected in the theme of World Youth Skill Day (WYSD2025) celebrated last week.
July 15, 2025 marked the 10th anniversary of WYSD, and this year’s theme was youth empowerment through AI and digital skills. Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus,on the occasion of WYSD 2025, said the interim government, formed in the wake of the July mass uprising, is committed to transforming the youth into valuable national assets by fostering employment and eradicating inequality.
AI has already demonstrated significant impacts in the industry. There was an interesting piece published by Forbes on AI: “This is not just the future of work anymore, it is the present. If you want to stay employed and have a highly profitable AI-approved career, your resume needs to be AI fluent” -- written by Rachel Wells.
The future of youth employment
According to the World Economic Forum, more than 85 million jobs are being displaced by automation. At the same time, 97 million new AI-powered roles are rising in their place. Of course, the economic prospects of frontier technology are enormous. Frontier technologies represented a $2.5 trillion market in 2023 and are estimated to increase sixfold in the next decade, reaching $16.4 trillion by 2033, as revealed in the UN Technology and Innovation Report 2025.
Given AI’s potential to be a more powerful positive force than any other in history, it stands to reason that it will have the same possibility on the negative side of the equation, as it’s been with every other invention or discovery ever. This has also raised significant ethical concerns, and AI systems tend to deliver biased results.
Search-engine technology is not neutral as it processes big data and prioritizes results with the most clicks, relying both on user preferences and location. Thus, a search engine can become an echo chamber that upholds biases of the real world and further entrenches these prejudices and stereotypes online.
What does the data show?
Empirical research covering 1.6 million AI professionals worldwide found stark gender imbalances. Women comprise only 22% of AI talent globally, with even lower representation at senior levels -- occupying less than 14% of senior executive roles in AI.
Europe closed 75% of its gender gap, with Sweden and Germany among the top five European economies in closing the gender gap. However, data reveals a stark contrast in the AI sector: Germany and Sweden have some of the lowest female representations in their AI workforces in the EU, at 20.3% and 22.4% respectively. Let alone Asian countries, women and marginalized groups remain significantly underrepresented in AI fields even in Europe.
The great digital divide
The digital divide has already impacted adolescent girls and young women. A UNICEF report (Bridging the Gender Digital Divide) revealed a serious gap in the digital world.
Especially in low-income countries, 90% of adolescent girls and young women aged 15- 24 are offline, compared to 78% of adolescent boys and young men of the same age who do not use the internet.
Last month, the Hamburg Declaration on Responsible AI for the SDGs (June 2025) was adopted. Recognizing both the opportunities and risks of AI, the Hamburg Declaration outlines a human- centred, human rights-based approach to AI development and governance.
This declaration basically centres on ensuring that AI technologies uphold human rights, serve and protect marginalized communities, and combat disinformation. Co-signatories have further committed to improve the resource efficiency of AI systems, expand access to AI education for women and girls, and support the growth of local AI innovations in developing countries.
It is imperative for Bangladesh to tap opportunities offered by the expansion of AI. It is particularly significant for the country considering the issue of demographic divide.
Bangladesh will continue to enjoy its demographic dividend until 2040, and this opportunity has been provided by the age structural transition. This window of opportunity opens for a population only once, and it is high time to invest systematically to facilitate access to AI education for youths.
If we take the example of Sri Lanka, the demographic transition from a youth bulge to an aging society has already created several economic, health, and social challenges.
As the number of people entering the workforce decreases, it has resulted in lower productivity, lower taxes, lower national income, lower growth, and lower savings. We must make our move before reaching such an economic situation, potentially hindering economic progress.
Serious efforts and investment must be made to make youths AI fluent.
Oli Md Abdullah Chowdhury is a human rights worker.
