Presidency's Director of Communications Altun said: "We believe, under the leadership of our President, that the new period will be the century of communication and digitalisation, and we are working to ensure the effective use of artificial intelligence technologies in the media in pursuit of truth."
In his speech at the forum titled "Managing Artificial Intelligence in Media," held at AAtölye in cooperation with Anadolu Agency (AA) and Bilişim Vadisi and with the main sponsorship of Turkcell, Director of Communications Altun said that they were talking about "managing artificial intelligence" instead of "using" or "blocking" it in the media.
Director of Communications Altun emphasised that artificial intelligence, which posed serious challenges on the one hand and significant opportunities on the other, was a technology that needed to be addressed in all its dimensions and said:
"We know that artificial intelligence technology is now a significant reality in our media world. The question is, how are we going to manage this reality? How will we take advantage of this opportunity? How will we manage this challenge? If we are talking about managing, then it is obvious that we need strong leadership, planning and oversight. If one of these is missing, we cannot talk about a management process. To surmount the challenges associated with artificial intelligence in the media and capitalise on the prospects it presents, human intelligence, human management, human leadership, strategic planning, and oversight are paramount. To be absolutely explicit, we need neither pessimism nor optimism in this regard; we need realism. We don't need technological determinism and technophobia when discussing AI."
"Artificial intelligence appeals greatly to the media"
Director of Communications Altun underlined that the term "artificial intelligence" denoted the incorporation of human-like intelligence into computer systems and stated that the capacity to learn, analyse data, resolve issues, and adapt to novel circumstances and developments constituted the most fundamental characteristic of artificial intelligence.
Director of Communications Altun stated that news production practises were the initial domain that came to mind when contemplating the use of artificial intelligence in the media and said:
"We all know that artificial intelligence has the ability to produce news rapidly with its extensive data analysis and language processing capabilities. We know that this is the reason why it has turned into a tool that appeals greatly to the media. Again, artificial intelligence can offer personalised content to media consumers with its algorithms. Another use of artificial intelligence in media is the analysis, classification and labelling of images in media content. In addition, the voice analysis capability of AI is what renders it functional in the media at present. Likewise, its ability to analyse emotions is another way it is instrumentalised in the media. Furthermore, artificial intelligence allows for real-time news updates, content moderation, rapid verification, big data analysis, multilingual translation, and cost savings. So, given these advantages, should we just sit back and enjoy ourselves while appreciating the possibilities of artificial intelligence? Certainly not; such a luxury is not available to us. Now that we are talking about managing AI, we should also contemplate the challenges that the use of AI in the media presents and the means by which they can be surmounted."
"Fake content overrides true information"
Director of Communications Altun noted that the biggest danger in the post-artificial intelligence media order is the transformation of sensational content and click-bait news texts into the primary sources of reference and the reproduction of sensational texts rather than well-studied texts.
Pointing out that another risk associated with the use of artificial intelligence in the media is the uncontrolled spread of disinformative content and fake content overriding true information, Director of Communications Altun said:
"This will undoubtedly cause damage to the media institution's reputation in society and undermine trust in the media. An additional concern that may arise in relation to the utilisation of artificial intelligence in the media is the possibility of dehumanisation, or, in a sense, cultural erosion, of the media ecosystem and culture. This is a significant risk. Such a process shrinks the media sector in terms of human labour and limits media workers' employment opportunities, while it also entails editorial oversight deficiencies, editorial independence risks, and the possibility of diminished diversity in perspectives."
Stating that experts generally prefer to discuss the issue over the "machine-human" relationship as the presence of artificial intelligence in the media becomes more apparent, Director of Communications Altun said, "Certainly, with artificial intelligence, the issue of 'machine to replace human' has become a major concern, and the shrinking employment processes in the media subsequent to the advent of artificial intelligence has become an important issue. However, a critical issue surrounding the use of artificial intelligence in the media is the blurring of the line between what is fake and real, a lie and the truth as a result of AI."
"We need to be bold in making use of artificial intelligence in media"
Emphasising that the issue of dehumanisation and cultural erosion is a matter to be absolutely managed within the context of the use of artificial intelligence in the media, Director of Communications Altun said:
"We must start by managing this issue. If we keep people, culture and history at the centre, the use of artificial intelligence in the media can become reliable and self-confident. If not, we will be left without a point of reference, where chaos and anarchy will descend through an endless number of models that are layered on top of one another. We require an understanding of corporate governance that is skimmed from our intellectual, cultural, and historical experiences. This is an essential component in the management of AI.
Regarding the utilisation of artificial intelligence in the media, we must be courageous in the face of this technology. We have no choice but to be courageous. We will rely on history, culture, our human capabilities and each other. Nonetheless, this confidence and bravery must be accompanied by strategic prudence. We also do not have a choice in this regard. Because we face an enormous challenge as a species. This is a matter of global injustice."
"Türkiye's struggle is an honourable one"
Director of Communications Altun said that the system that governs artificial intelligence technology and the system that creates global injustice are one and the same today and that global colonialism and digital colonialism, as well as global fascism and digital fascism, live side by side.
Explaining that for this very reason, the struggle for justice during this process will be the guarantee of the struggle for truth, Director of Communications Altun said:
"In order to ensure peace, prosperity, and stability on a global scale, humanity must establish a healthy balance between power and justice if we are to discuss a truth-based, equitable media order in the current global arena." Because, as Pascal said, 'Might without justice is tyrannical.' On the other hand, 'Justice without might is helpless.' In this sense, Türkiye's international struggle, led by our President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, is an honourable struggle against global injustice. Building strength for this struggle is undoubtedly a strategic objective of Türkiye. In this regard, in the pursuit of global justice and power concentration, the communication and media sectors, along with the defence industry in particular, emerge as one of the critical investment areas for Türkiye.
"The Centre for Countering Disinformation and AA's Fact Check Line are significant projects"
Digital media literacy should be updated and disseminated in a manner that incorporates artificial intelligence strategies, according to Director of Communications Altun, if it is to be possible to manage the use of artificial intelligence in the media.
Stating that Türkiye is making a concerted effort in this regard and that they are working to improve digital media literacy and culture with new technologies and disseminate them to the general public, Director of Communications Altun said:
"Our staunch commitment to combating disinformation is one of the steps we have taken in this regard. The public awareness that we have been working to raise regarding our struggle against disinformation has given digital media literacy a new and institutionalised dimension. In this vein, we should highlight two significant projects: the Anadolu Agency's (AA) Fact Check Line and our Directorate of Communication's Centre for Countering Disinformation.
As another step to managing the use of artificial intelligence in the media, Mr Serdar, Director General of AA, says we also need to create an AI Ethics Guide. This exact purpose is being served by this forum of Anadolu Agency, and I hope that at the conclusion of these forums, we will have the chance to have such a guide in our hands."
Noting that this will be a significant addition to the global scene when it comes to the use of artificial intelligence in media, Director of Communications Altun said, "We must emphasise that the private sector should share the same accountability as governmental institutions at this time, acting with the awareness that artificial intelligence technologies are closely tied to national security."
"80 journalists have been targeted and murdered by Israel"
Director of Communications Altun indicated that the management of artificial intelligence is a matter of critical importance for both present and future generations and said:
"As I previously stated, we need leadership, planning and oversight in this process. By investing in this area through collaboration with all relevant institutions and organisations related to our own sector and the media, we are exerting efforts to enhance our potential and capabilities, developing our short-, medium- and long-term plans, and working towards setting up the legal infrastructure for institutional and public audits.
Under the leadership of our President, we are ushering in a new century marked by communication and digitalisation, and we are working to ensure the effective use of artificial intelligence technologies in the media in pursuit of truth." We believe, under the leadership of our President, that the new period will be the century of communication and digitalisation, and we are working to ensure the effective use of artificial intelligence technologies in the media in pursuit of truth.
In his concluding remarks, Director of Communications Altun prayed for Allah's mercy on AA correspondent Montaser Al-Sawaf, who was martyred as a result of the inhumane Israeli attacks in Gaza, and said, "Once again, I would like to offer my condolences to the Anadolu Agency family. 80 journalists have been targeted and murdered by Israel, including Montaser. Perhaps most importantly, the global system of justice is indispensable at present to ensure that Israel is held accountable for its slaughter of tens of thousands of innocent people."