AI set to ‘revolutionize' transport, communications: Turkish transport minister

Artificial intelligence (AI) will become even more widespread and change all aspects of life, especially in transportation and communication, the Turkish transportation minister told Anadolu.

Abdulkadir Uraloglu said Türkiye's Information and Communication Technologies Authority (BTK) released a research report on AI and big data evaluating the risks and benefits of these technologies.

“AI is emerging in communications, health, finance, production, transportation, agriculture, trade, education, energy, and human resources,” he said. “We're continuing our efforts to use AI at the highest level to enhance all modes of transportation – the biggest change so far has been in aviation with autonomous flight systems.”

Uraloglu said some important steps are being taken in Türkiye when it comes to AI technologies and using big data.

“We use AI in airports to highways, tunnels to base stations, the e-Government application to cargo,” he said. “The Automatic Train Inspection Station system will also be equipped with AI to detect potential malfunctions before they occur and send early warnings to maintenance teams.”

“We aim to use all the advantages of the digital world in all layers of transportation and communication,” he added.

-Big data

He also said big data is becoming increasingly more important with accelerated efforts in digitalization, and processing big data presents opportunities for businesses and institutions, enabling a better understanding of consumer behavior, the development of more effective marketing strategies, and better operational efficiency.

“Thanks to machine and deep learning, we can analyze large data sets, solve complex problems, and make predictions in many sectors, from healthcare to finance and from manufacturing to transportation,” he said.

Uraloglu said the use and development of AI and big data are important to ensure progress for the benefit of humanity, but that comes with ethical issues, such as privacy, bias and discrimination, accountability, and human intervention.

- New technology to be everywhere

AI and big data technologies will become even more widespread in the future, entering all aspects of our daily lives, he predicted.

“We employ six basic principles, namely developing data literacy, establishing an ethical framework, taking a human-centered approach, ensuring transparency and accountability, setting an inclusive innovation, and making international cooperation,” he said. “We are making a fast transportation and communication system by fully utilizing the technologies of big data and AI.”

Uraloglu stressed that data literacy ensures these technologies are better understood and used by people, while ethical frameworks and developing regulatory mechanisms ensure the ethical use of AI and big data.

“We adopt a human-centered approach and prioritize human control and we believe that transparency in AI's decision-making processes and ensuring accountability are key to building trust,” he said. “We work with all stakeholders to bring an inclusive innovation approach and we consider international cooperation to be significant to the regulation of these technologies.”

He added that it is a responsibility to take advantage of the opportunities these technologies provide while minimizing their potential risks by ensuring their ethical and responsible use.