Türkiye broadens technology governance with new artificial intelligence directorates

ISTANBUL

Türkiye has taken new steps to expand its artificial intelligence ecosystem and public-sector adoption of the technology under decisions published Thursday in the Official Gazette, Industry and Technology Minister Mehmet Fatih Kacir said.

The Directorate General of National Technology within the ministry has been renamed and will now operate as the Directorate General of National Technology and Artificial Intelligence, Kacir shared.

According to the minister, the renamed directorate will develop and implement policies and strategies to expand Türkiye’s data center and cloud-computing infrastructure, set criteria and standards for data centers, and oversee regulations for certification and authorization processes.

The directorate will also work to ensure that AI technologies are developed and used in line with ethical and reliable principles, to expand data, infrastructure, and workforce capacity, support startups and research activities, coordinate national-level AI governance, and promote international cooperation, according to the minister.

Separately, a Public Artificial Intelligence Directorate General has been established under the Presidency’s Cybersecurity Directorate to guide the use of AI across government institutions.

The new unit will lead regulatory work on government AI applications, help align national legislation with international frameworks, and set principles and standards for data governance related to digital government and AI use in the public sector, Kacir noted.

The public AI directorate will also identify institutional needs, establish a shared data-space infrastructure, and define quality standards for datasets used in AI applications, he said.

“With strong coordination among stakeholders in the public sector, academia, and the private sector, we will ensure that Türkiye becomes one of the leading countries in the field of artificial intelligence,” Kacir said.