Türkiye's digital independence: AI, politics and the path to sovereignty

We stand at the threshold of a new era—not marked by falling empires or redrawn borders, but by a transformation deeper than any since the industrial revolution. Artificial intelligence has reached an inflection point where technology ceases to be merely a tool and becomes an active participant in social and political processes. With over one billion people now using general-purpose AI systems weekly, the acceleration demands what analysts call Politics 5.0—a framework where algorithms, big data, and digital platforms shape governance as profoundly as ideologies once did.

The Digital Leviathan and New Sovereignties

The relationship between AI and politics today operates through code rather than slogans, data streams rather than manifestos. Campaigns deploy micro-targeting, predictive analytics, and AI-generated content while voters navigate filter bubbles and echo chambers. Yet this technological power concentrates in alarming ways. Major language models reside with a handful of Western tech giants, chip production clusters in few nations, and data infrastructure remains controlled by global corporations. When President Trump transferred TikTok's US operations to a group including Oracle's Larry Ellison—whose son is expanding media holdings with clear pro-Israel orientation—and when Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu declares social media "the most important weapon," the geopolitical stakes become unmistakable. AI is the new rifle, the new printing press, the new steel of sovereignty battles.

Türkiye's Parliamentary Roadmap

Against this backdrop, Türkiye's Grand National Assembly has produced a comprehensive Artificial Intelligence Research Commission report that moves beyond rhetoric to concrete strategy. Rising from 44th to 34th place in global AI indexes since 2021, Türkiye hosts nearly 1,000 AI initiatives with several achieving international recognition. The report calls for nurturing "national champions," increasing Turcorns, and transforming Türkiye from consumer to producer. Key recommendations include a National Data Strategy, National AI Security Strategy, domestic chip infrastructure, and indigenous language models—efforts already visible in TÜBİTAK's 300 billion token training and Baykar's T3 AI Turkish language model targeting one trillion tokens. The proposed Türkiye AI Institution and AI Ethics Council aim to prevent what philosophers might call a "Digital Leviathan"—an unaccountable technological authority threatening human autonomy.

Building Digital Independence

The path forward requires simultaneous investment in data, law, institutions, human capital, and trust. Education reform and AI literacy must accompany legal frameworks including a proposed AI Law tailored to Türkiye's needs. The choice is stark: remain a passive market consuming foreign systems, or become a regional hub with national capacity, strong private sector, robust legal infrastructure, and qualified human resources. Like Takiyüddin's 16th-century Istanbul observatory—an attempt to strengthen statecraft with scientific knowledge—today's AI capabilities represent foresight capacity for nations. Surrendering this potential to fear, or allowing it to become another tool of digital colonialism, would repeat history's mistakes. The parliamentary report must not become an archival document gathering dust, but a living action plan shaping Türkiye's technological destiny.