'Turkey's AI sector share in GDP to be 5% by 2025'

ANKARA

Under the planned roadmap, the share of Turkey's artificial intelligence (AI) sector in the gross domestic product (GDP) will be at least 5% by 2025, said the country's technology minister on Tuesday.

Speaking at the Global Technology Governance Summit organized by the World Economic Forum, Mustafa Varank said Turkey designed its national AI strategy around six priority areas including human capital, supporting research and entrepreneurship, data and technical infrastructure, and economic adaptation.

"In our strategy, we also have a set of targets such as reaching 50,000 in AI employment, increasing the ratio of AI R&D expenditures to 15% in total R&D," he told the virtually held summit.

Varank also stressed the importance of the data saying that it is the oxygen for AI.

"You first need to convince the data owner institutions to share what they have, then make sure that the data you received is reliable."

Noting the drastic changes in technology driven by AI, Varank said these changes have always made people anxious, but they will guide us to the fourth industrial revolution.

"The labor-saving technologies have always enhanced the worker welfare despite the fear of a rise in unemployment and finally each new industrial revolution brings new opportunities."

Highlighting Turkey's population advantage, Varank noted that the median age is around 32 in Turkey and the younger generations are well-educated.

This was the reason why we made improving the human capital as our first priority in our strategy document, he added.