In line with the recent developments across the world, the National Artificial Intelligence Strategy 2024-2025 Action Plan (“Action Plan“) was published, prepared in cooperation with the Presidential Digital Transformation Office of the Republic of Türkiye and the Ministry of Industry and Technology, and in line with the opinions of various public and private actors and nongovernmental organizations (“NGOs“), to advance Türkiye’s framework on artificial intelligence practices and strengthen its global position in terms of artificial intelligence.
What’s new with the Action Plan?
The Action Plan, which primarily focuses on promoting the use of artificial intelligence systems in Türkiye and ensuring that Türkiye becomes one of the leading countries in the artificial intelligence sector, sets out 6 strategic priorities, namely: (i) training artificial intelligence experts and increasing recruitment in the relevant field; (ii) supporting research, entrepreneurship and innovation; (iii) expanding access to quality data and technical infrastructure; (iv) enacting regulations to accelerate socioeconomic integration; (v) strengthening cooperation at the international level; and (vi) facilitating structural and labor transition. The Action Plan includes 71 plans and/or actions for the relevant targets, and it identifies various responsible stakeholders for the relevant targets to be achieved and the process moving forward, namely the Ministry of Industry and Technology, the Ministry of National Education, TÜBİTAK, the Presidential Investment Office and the Presidential Digital Transformation Office.
The significant action plans and/or actions set out in the Action Plan are as follows:
- Preparing national occupational standards and national qualifications in the field of artificial intelligence and establishing an evaluation infrastructure in this regard
- Implementing a support program that will encourage the use of artificial intelligence products and solutions resulting from domestic research and development (“R&D“) studies by small and medium enterprises
- Preparing guidelines to clarify the intellectual property rights of content created by artificial intelligence and standardization studies on the patentability of artificial intelligence products
- Establishing an inventory both for national and international companies operating in Türkiye in the field of artificial intelligence and for their products
- Establishing a special mechanism for global technology companies to carry out their R&D operations in the field of artificial intelligence in Türkiye
- Establishing a “Central Public Data Space” by preparing an inventory of the data owned by public institutions and organizations and developing mechanisms to make this data available to researchers and technology developers
- Improving regulations for data governance in the artificial intelligence ecosystem
- Issuing national regulations in line with international norms regulating the development and use of artificial intelligence systems, as well as the supply of systems containing artificial intelligence to the market
- Preparing Legal Analysis Guidelines on Artificial Intelligence Applications
- Preparing Impact Analysis Guidelines Regarding Artificial Intelligence Values and Principles
- Developing tools for the supervision of trusted artificial intelligence
- Preparing supervision guidelines on “Algorithmic Accountability” covering functional operations within the artificial intelligence lifecycle and establishing necessary mechanisms for conducting application-based technical audits
- Creating a “Trusted Artificial Intelligence Stamp” in line with the certification mechanism for the audit and legal compliance of artificial intelligence applications
- Carrying out the necessary policy and legislative operations to perform the works within the scope of detecting, preventing and mitigating the effects of new generation cyber threats, especially those enhanced by artificial intelligence, directed against Türkiye’s assets in cyberspace from a uniform structure
Following the global developments and, in particular, the Artificial Intelligence Act, which was published in the Official Journal of the European Union in recent weeks and will partially enter into force on 1 August 2024, a regulation in line with international norms regulating the development, use and supply of artificial intelligence systems to the market was expected to be drafted in Türkiye in the upcoming years. In this respect, the Action Plan, including actions on the issuance of regulations targeting the use of artificial intelligence systems in line with effective and ethical principles, should be considered as a significant development.
In addition, the Action Plan indicates that the relevant NGOs, universities and public institutions, as well as stakeholders in the private sector, will also take responsibility for the achievement of the specified actions.
Conclusion
Following the global efforts in the use and development of artificial intelligence systems, the Action Plan, which aims to ensure that Türkiye has pioneering practices in the field of artificial intelligence, includes actions that will affect stakeholders in the sector and envisages that various institutions will play a role in the implementation of these actions. The Action Plan reveals that developments in the field of artificial intelligence will gain momentum in Türkiye in the upcoming period similar to the global developments.
By Can Sozer, Partner, Esin Attorneys Partnership
