Turkey’s National Artificial Intelligence Strategy 2021-2025 (the Strategy) was published on 20 August 2021.

Through the Strategy, the following areas are defined as priority topics: education, employment and new professions; research and development and entrepreneurial initiatives; data‑related and technical issues; international cooperation; the transformation of the public and private sectors; and ethical and legal questions arising from the use of artificial intelligence (AI).

Ethical Aspects

From an ethical perspective, the Strategy adopts a human‑centric, trustworthy and responsible approach to AI. This approach builds on principles developed by the European Commission, the OECD, the G20 and UNESCO.

Within this framework, the AI values and principles set out in the Strategy can be summarized as follows:

• Respect for human rights, democratic values and the rule of law;
• Ensuring that the development and use of AI systems do not harm the environment, humans or other living beings;
• Preventing the use of AI systems from leading to discrimination or the objectification of individuals or other living beings;
• Taking appropriate security measures and paying due attention to risk management, particularly with respect to privacy risks and other foreseeable risks associated with the development and use of AI systems;
• In situations where AI systems are involved in decision‑making processes, establishing mechanisms that allow individuals affected by those decisions to understand how they are made and to challenge them where necessary;
• Ensuring that all persons who play a role in processes involving AI systems bear responsibility within the scope of their respective roles;
• Paying due attention to data sovereignty in the sharing and use of data; and
• Establishing governance models that enable the participation of all stakeholders concerned by AI systems.

Legal Aspects

Within the Strategy, work on legal regulation concerning AI is identified as one of the targets under the broader heading of social adaptation.

It is envisaged that these legal regulations will be developed in line with the AI values and principles and with due regard to ongoing international legislative initiatives, to ensure that domestic rules are compatible with those frameworks.

In parallel, the Strategy highlights several measures to support social adaptation: providing in‑service training to judges and prosecutors on legal and criminal liability and intellectual property rights, where new issues are being discussed due to the development of AI technologies; raising awareness among sector stakeholders about legal obligations relating to the protection of personal data; and, more generally, designing training content and oversight mechanisms that help ensure compliance with the AI values and principles.

Our Legal Policy Recommendations

In addition to the goals and strategies set out in the Strategy, we believe that medium‑ and long‑term legal policy work should also take into account the following issues:

• Adopting new approaches in legal education in parallel with technological developments;
• In connection with the use of AI in legal services, defining professional and ethical rules, confidentiality obligations, and the limits of the use of such technologies;
• Regulating forensic IT practices in line with technological developments; and
• Examining the impact of the increasing use of AI in business life on workers’ rights and taking appropriate measures.

by Müge Önal Başer

References

1. Presidential Circular No. 2021/18 on the National Artificial Intelligence Strategy (2021-2025) published in the Official Journal dated 20 August 2021 and numbered 31574.
2. Ulusal Yapay Zekâ Stratejisi 2021-2025, https://cbddo.gov.tr/SharedFolderServer/Genel/File/TR-UlusalYZekaStratejisi2021-2025.pdf (last visited 18 September 2021).
3. Önal Başer, Müge: “Law Technologies,” March 2019, http://www.mugeonal.com/law-technologies.
4. Yapay Zekâ Çağında Hukuk, İstanbul, Ankara ve İzmir Baroları Çalıştay Raporu 2019, http://www.ankarabarosu.org.tr/upload/HD/Donem65/Duyurular/20191221_yapayzekaraporu.pdf (last visited 18 September 2021).