Correction (19 October 2026): The employment target has been corrected (the strategy aims to raise total AI employment to 50,000 people, not to create 50,000 new jobs), and the description of regulatory sandboxes now follows the strategy’s text.
The National Artificial Intelligence Strategy, adopted by Presidential Circular No. 2021/18, is Türkiye's first policy document in this field. It treats artificial intelligence as the main engine of economic and structural transformation rather than merely a technological tool. Its vision is stated as "To generate value on a global scale with an agile and sustainable artificial intelligence ecosystem for a prosperous Türkiye."
Innovations and Concrete Targets
- Economic Contribution: Increasing the contribution of AI to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) to 5%.
- Employment Focus: Increasing employment in the field of AI to 50,000 people, and AI employment in central and local government institutions to 1,000 people.
- Academic Capacity: Raising the number of graduate-level AI specialists to 10,000.
- Global Competitiveness: Ranking among the top 20 countries globally in international AI indices.
- Trustworthy AI Vision: Ensuring the transition to a "Trustworthy and Ethical AI" approach.
6 Strategic Priorities and Regulatory Areas
1. Human Resources and Employment
Updating AI-focused education programs and putting in place incentives to attract and retain AI researchers.
2. Entrepreneurship and Innovation
Establishing incubation centers for AI startups and directing R&D support mechanisms toward the field.
3. Quality Data and Technical Infrastructure
Creating secure open data portals and facilitating data sharing by introducing anonymization standards compliant with data protection laws.
4. Regulation for Socioeconomic Adaptation
Creating regulatory sandboxes and testbeds to facilitate the development, testing and commercialisation of AI initiatives, carrying out research on adapting administrative and legal rules to the socioeconomic transformation AI brings, and addressing the ethical and legal aspects of AI applications.
5. International Cooperation
Taking legal steps to align with cross-border data standards developed in forums such as the EU, OECD, and G20.
6. Structural and Workforce Transformation
Setting up reskilling and upskilling programs for occupational groups at risk due to automation.
Original documents
Read the primary sources referenced in this article:
↓ Türkiye National AI Strategy 2021–2025 — PDF ↓ Presidential Circular 2021/18 — official
