As artificial intelligence moves to reshape daily life, economies, the future of jobs and national security, Türkiye is moving ahead with a new action plan that extends to several critical domains, from building awareness to boosting data center capacity.

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan unveiled on Saturday the country's new AI Action Plan, through which Ankara aims to mobilize at least $10 billion in mainly private-sector investment for data centers, cloud computing, and artificial intelligence infrastructure.

The president shared with the public the 2026-2030 road map at the Türkiye Artificial Intelligence Summit held in Istanbul.

Here are the key details:

Data centers, investment

Speaking at the summit, Erdoğan said the country aims to increase its installed data center capacity to at least 1 gigawatt (GW) by 2030.

He also said at least 2% of public investment programs will be allocated to artificial intelligence projects.

Erdoğan said the action plan aims to carry Türkiye into "the league of leading countries in artificial intelligence technologies."

"As Türkiye, we are making intensive efforts to reflect our accumulated experience and capabilities in the defense industry to other fields, especially artificial intelligence," he noted.

He also said that political, military, and economic power can no longer be considered separately from digital sovereignty, adding that digital capacity has become a force multiplier.

Türkiye is among the countries that recognized this technological transformation early and shaped its policies accordingly, he added.

Moreover, the president recalled the launch of 5G services on March 31, the establishment of the Cybersecurity Presidency, and the launch of the country’s first indigenous communications satellite, Türksat 6A, back in 2024, citing them as the steps strengthening digital independence.

He said Türkiye is now one of 11 countries capable of producing its own communications satellite.

The president also said Türkiye has built a major innovation infrastructure over the past 23 years, with more than 1,700 R&D and design centers, 114 technoparks, and over 13,000 technology companies.

Erdoğan also announced plans to make at least 2,000 public datasets available to citizens through a National Data Library, including data from sectors such as health, agriculture, defense, and e-commerce.

He said the plan will create a regulatory framework that protects users’ rights and provides predictability for investors, based on a proportional and risk-based approach.

He emphasized that the achievements in technology are only the visible part of a much larger "iceberg," adding that Türkiye is determined to build a strong and powerful country in the digital field as part of the "Century of Türkiye," by benefiting from the opportunities of artificial intelligence.

AI literacy workshops, training

One of the critical pillars of the action plan is also awareness and literacy, and under it Türkiye will train 10,000 advanced AI specialists and 100,000 AI application professionals, he said.

The president further added that AI literacy workshops will be launched in all 81 provinces, with the goal of providing training to 5 million citizens within two years.

"We will launch the National Artificial Intelligence Literacy Program to ensure that people of all ages understand artificial intelligence correctly and use it safely," Erdoğan said.

4 main pillars

The AI Action Plan is built on four main pillars – "discover, benefit, produce and govern," or ("awareness, adoption, production, and governance") – with four complementary actions under each pillar, he noted.

Under the "benefit" pillar, Erdoğan said artificial intelligence will be turned into concrete value in fields ranging from public services and industry to education, health, agriculture, and security.

He said legal regulations will be introduced to guarantee that data centers meet international standards and energy efficiency requirements.

E-government will be treated as a transformation area where citizens can directly experience AI-supported public services, he added.

Furthermore, Erdoğan said small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) will be supported through AI vouchers, especially in priority areas such as health, energy and smart manufacturing.

Under the "produce" pillar, Türkiye will develop its own AI models, establish AI growth zones, and support research and startups through national AI research and growth funds.

'Bilge' model as example

He said work on Turkish large language models (LLMs) will continue to strengthen digital sovereignty, citing local language model "Bilge," developed by the Scientific and Technological Research Council of Türkiye (TÜBITAK), as one example.

Erdoğan also referred to large language model projects developed by the T3 Foundation and Baykar, as well as Havelsan's 9-billion-parameter model on the Main platform.

Under the "govern" pillar, Türkiye aims to position Istanbul as the country’s international showcase and investment diplomacy city in artificial intelligence.

"We will position Istanbul as Türkiye’s international showcase in artificial intelligence and as a city of investment diplomacy. We will use Terminal Istanbul as a meeting point for our entrepreneurs and global investors," he said.

The president also suggested that Türkiye will take an active role in shaping human-centered AI standards at different organizations such as the OECD, the G-20, the U.N., and other international platforms.

He also said Türkiye will work with the Organization of Turkic States (OTS) to gradually develop a joint Turkic large language model covering Oghuz, Kipchak, and Karluk languages.

"By seizing the opportunities provided by artificial intelligence, we are determined to build a great and strong Türkiye in the 'Century of Türkiye' in the digital world as well," he said.

The summit in Istanbul was attended by top officials, including Vice President Cevdet Yılmaz and Industry and Technology Minister Mehmet Fatih Kacır.

Kacır, in a post on social media, shared his interaction with the newly unveiled "Bilge" model.

The event was also attended by Selçuk Bayraktar, the chairperson of the board and the chief technology officer of the Turkish drone pioneer Baykar, who, in his address, criticized Big Tech platforms for trapping billions of users in algorithmic loops designed to optimize screen time through neurological exploitation.

To counter the monopoly of global technology cartels, Bayraktar urged developing countries and allied nations to build independent, transparent, and auditable open-source ecosystems.

The new action plan was welcomed by the leading non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in the field, as well as the private sector.

"As the Artificial Intelligence Policy Association (AIPA), one of Türkiye’s first official civil society organizations dedicated to artificial intelligence, we are proud to have contributed, even in a small way, to this vision and action plan," said Zafer Küçükşabanoğlu, founder and chairperson of AIPA, an Ankara-based NGO.

"This historic step has further strengthened our motivation and optimism for the future. As we have always emphasized, the driving force and coordinator of this transformation is our state," he added.

"We have signed a cooperation protocol with our ministry in line with the Artificial Intelligence Competency goals," said Levent Özbilgin, General Manager at Microsoft Türkiye, referring to the protocol with the Industry and Technology Ministry.

"I hope that the Artificial Intelligence Action Plan and Roadmap will be beneficial and auspicious for our country," he added.