This interim government and its inclination and enthusiasm to celebrate all the diverse religions and groups we have in Bangladesh is admirable. The inclusion of the various Hindu and Buddhist celebrations in the calendar has always been there, as part of our pluralistic society but the current trend to actively celebrate and spread the spirit of the festivities is commendable.

Bangladesh has long been a tolerant and secular society, inviting to people of all faiths and backgrounds. We have a long tradition of enlightenment and acceptance, with a unique culture born of the songs and celebrations that come from being Bengalis. Our poets, songwriters and playwrights are etched into our history: Tagore, Rabindranath and so many other legends. The recent Pahela Boishak festivities were an admirable and appreciable way to signal to the world that this is the Bangladesh that we all want to be a part of.

America’s decline is explosive and mired in controversy, thanks to DJT’s impeccable ‘deal making skills’ and his choice in ‘fine men and women’. I was going to ask how can someone be so stupid and asinine but I rather must ask the question ‘how can so many people vote for DJT, even though he showed them who he was in his first time’? It’s not like they didn’t know who he was: there were plenty of examples of his impulsive nature, his chaotic mind and his dictatorial traits in his first 4 years. He almost invited the overthrow of the government in his last week. How much more evidence does a person need to submit about their character?

The only thing left was for him to sign a written declaration that ‘Yes, I want to ruin America and become a dictator’

What’s especially galling is that while the poor, uneducated and the intellectually weak can be excused for playing into his populist messaging, what excuse is there for the elites? So many intellectual titans and the darlings of the tech world cozied up to Trump’s reelection campaign and proudly told the world that DJT is the sole chance for the redemption and revitalization of western Civilization.

So what is this paragon of western ideals done since he came into office? What experience has he created for the American people, with his vast knowledge of bankruptcies, criminal misconduct and liaisons with pornstars?

He has overseen and personally ordered the dismantling the vast infrastructure of the us federal government, ruined America’s premier outreach and diplomatic wing in USAID, destroyed global trading norms and imposed a virtual curfew on people speaking out against Israel and for Palestine. DJT is targeting law firms, universities, ordinary people who don’t bow down to his whims and those who speak ill of him, his administration and the vassal state of Israel.

Its maddening that someone can be charged with a crime or rather just thrown out of the country and/or thrown into jail even without being charged with a crime because they happened to speak out against Israel. Israel has now taken control of major parts of the American judiciary and law enforcement system and its especially evident in how pro-Palestinian voices are being mercilessly targeted in Trump’s America.

Ironically this only happens to strengthen the voices of the antisemites, who hate the Jewish people. By trying to protect Israel, Trump is probably making the world a much more dangerous place for actual Jewish people who live among us.

The fall of America under DJT is a slow, painful thing to watch, especially when you think that this was caused directly by the American people themselves.

Everyday we wake up, we find some new turmoil engulfing the united states. This is an absurd state of affairs to be in: the president of the country is actively trying to demolish its institutions and embark on a textbook journey of one party rule. His policies and activities ever since he took office has been focused on consolidating power and expanding his influence over the pillars of power that exist in America.

 For the uniniated, America has a system called ‘seperatation of powers’, where different parts of the government is run by each of its 3 wings: the executive branch, the legislative branch and the judicial branch. The executive branch is headed by the president and the resident of the white house. The legislative branch is made up of the senators and congressmen and women who represent their states in the national assemblies. Finally the judicial branch is made up of the judges who enforce laws. Each has been empowered with a different set of privileges and responsibilities, to ensure that no one branch can overpower the others. Independence of each is sacrosanct and supposed to be involiable. Inevitably conflicts arise due to personalities or ambitions but the system endures as it was designed to.

Not in the day and age of the orange Cheetos. Just this last week, he defied orders issued by a judge to stop the deportation he called ‘gang bangers’. Leaving aside the details of the case, the fact that a sitting president and his administration feel emboldened to ignore the rulings of a judge and act as if the law does not apply to them is alarming and worrying. Already we are hearing of indiscriminate raids by the ICE, the immigration agency, picking up anyone who looks ‘brown’ and detaining them indefinitely. ‘Arrest first, investigate later’ seems to be the motto right now.  

Elon Musk, the deputy of Orange Cheeto who seems to have unchecked authority and access to the most sensitive areas of the US government, was supposed to be briefed on American military plans on how to wage war on China. Only the resulting ruckus from the media who had been discreetly informed about the briefing derail their plans.

Image the chaos that is going on behind the scenes, that we are not privy to. This is not how the world’s most powerful country, with the most powerful economy and developed political system behaves.

The saddest thing to see about the world is the dismantling of global alliances which have shaped the modern world and ushered in an unprecedented era of cooperation and prosperity. Under the leadership of the United States, the western powers carved out an era on extraordinary stability. Backed by the combined arms of their vast militaries and the deep coffers of their financial houses, they bent and shaped the world into their image.

Now, the orange Cheetos seems hell bent on destroying everything his predecessors have built up. The very stability of the ‘rules based system’ is crumbling with American leadership becoming actively hostile. America is now starting trade wars with its closest allies, insulting its friends and making deals with its enemies. Russia and China are just waiting in the wings, looking at this debacle eagerly. They want this disintegration to continue because America’s strength was not only in its powerful armies but the also the vast alliances it could call upon.

An increasingly hostile and isolationist America ruled by oligarchs, irreverent to the traditions of American jurisprudence, is a danger only to the world but also to its people. Any country which has the voices of a fringe, rich minority amplified and controlling all the levers of power is incredibly vulnerable to crumbling from within.

I’m going to make the argument for gentrification. Jeremy Corbyn recently came out and said London is losing its ‘character’, whatever that is. He wants the city to remain the same as it used to. What London used to be a porous wasteland with many neighbourhoods in disrepair and without a plan for improvement. Now you have one of the richest neighbourhoods sitting on top of the Docklands, bars and restaurants in Shoreditch and fresh developments transforming Mile End and Tower Hamlets.

Everywhere you look, the city’s whole nature is evolving to something that caters to the current city. It’s a reflection of people and places that are needed in a modern London and not of a London that doesn’t exist anymore. When I explored London, I was continuously amazed at the way they preserved and maintained their heritage: priceless of old buildings and artifacts were hidden away across the city.

A city’s very nature is supposed to be ever changing and ever evolving. It changes with the people it attracts, the jobs it offers and the industries it supports. Holding onto something as ephemeral as ‘character’ is like trying to hold onto sand in a closed fist. The more you squeeze, the faster it spills out.

People like Jeremy Corbyn say that change drives people away. I say change attracts people. They bring in fresh blood, fresh perspective and innovation. Change is the only thing that can freshen and brighten things up, especially when they start to slow down and stagnate.

Cities need to evolve, unlike Jeremy Corby’s thinking, to survive and thrive.

The current state of the AI tech is still novel and prone to breaking: hallucinations still run amok and models have a habit of running in circles, trying to solve problems that have no solution. Don’t let that fool you or turn you off from starting to utilize or diving into AI models and using them as much as possible.

Shortly, anyone not running, controlling or creating their models of AI will be among the first on the front lines of redundancy. In an age where rudimentary AI agents can already do much more than the average worker, it’s only a matter of time before companies and corporations look to replace their workforces with models which will never need to take a break, learn insanely fast and don’t need annual salary increments or bonuses. The new AI-driven company structure could be a core circle of employees who train, activate and run the AI models and a few others. All other jobs which can be done by an AI will inevitably be at threat.

Which jobs are safe (for the time being)? Jobs which need physical dexterity that machines cannot match yet. Doctors, surgeons, chefs, bartenders, athletes and jobs where human physicality is one of the most important elements in their day-to-day activities. Jobs which require a lot of thinking and a lot of time spent on computers, which need a lot of education, are ironically the most at risk. Consultants, bankers, and coders are most at risk simply because of how good the AI is at their jobs already.

Remember we are talking about AI in its pre-alpha stage. It’s got a lot of bugs, it tends to break a lot and had a lot of quirks but you can see the potential in it. If this is how good it is right now, imagine how good it can be in a few years and how much that will impact our lives and the world around us.

Suppose you ask a student in Bangladesh what they want to be when they graduate. In that case, they will inevitably answer any one of the following: an engineer, a doctor, a government official or a corporate worker. Why wouldn’t they? Those choices are the ones that most people are familiar with, the career counsellors know about and the options that parents always instil at a young age. More importantly, the pathway to these is pretty clear-cut. Want to be an engineer? You want to get admitted to BUET or any of the engineering schools across Bangladesh. Doctor? You’ll need to beeline to Dhaka Medical College or its ilk. If you’re interested in the corporate ladder, you’ll have to get yourself into a business school or join IBA (any variant will do).

For the most popular option, there are hundreds and thousands of books, courses and coaching centres catering to the huge demand of thousands of students who want to ace the government entrance exams.

All these options have a clearly defined pathway with a start and stop point, a measurable set of metrics to achieve and people to guide students along.

Most people who ever wanted to start their own business or own their venture often have little to no guidance on where to start. They might have really good ideas and a lot of energy and understand that business is tough but they are equipped with the skillsets which they need to pursue a career in entrepreneurship.

That’s where this project that I am working on comes in: we try to equip participants across universities in Bangladesh with the skills and tools they need to start and succeed in business.  From validating their ideas, coming up with a coherent business plan and being sensible with their finances, this project gives participants the experience they need to enter the market with a reasonable chance at success.

Business is extremely difficult to survive in, most companies go bust in the first 2 years and often you are at the mercy of elements beyond your control. However, it still is one of the most exhilarating and liberating professions to engage in. Of course, you can get ridiculously rich, which is a pretty good outcome.

If we manage to execute this project, hit our targets and create a self-sustaining ecosystem, it will be a good 2 years spent.