Digital media literacy should be updated for the use of artificial intelligence in the industry, Turkish Communications Director Fahrettin Altun said.
Addressing the Managing Al in Media forum organised by Anadolu Agency in Ankara on Wednesday, Altun said: "If we want to manage the use of artificial intelligence in the media, we must update digital media literacy to include artificial intelligence strategies and make it publicly accessible."
"We aim to enrich digital media literacy and culture with new technologies and make it accessible to the public. One of the important steps we have taken in this direction is our steadfast stance in combating disinformation."
"Our efforts in combating disinformation have created public awareness and brought a new and institutional dimension to digital media literacy," Altun added.
He said another essential step in using artificial intelligence in the media is creating an AI ethics guide and expressed hope that it would be one of the event's outcomes.
"We must act with the awareness that artificial intelligence technologies are directly related to national security. In this process, not only public institutions but also the private sector should take responsibility," the communications director said.
"We believe, under the leadership of our president (Recep Tayyip Erdogan), that the new era will be the century of communications and digital. Accordingly, we are working towards the fair and effective use of artificial intelligence in the media for truth's sake."
Being 'bold' in using AI
To overcome the challenges of artificial intelligence in the media and benefit from the opportunities it provides, Altun said: "We need to uphold human rights, humane governance, humane leadership, planning, and audit."
"In the context of using artificial intelligence in the media, the issue of dehumanisation and cultural erosion is a matter we must manage ... It is very clear that we need to be bold in the use of artificial intelligence usage in the media. We will rely on history, culture, human capacities, and trust in each other," Altun said.
He said the system behind global injustice also produces and uses AI technologies, adding: "As it stands, artificial intelligence is an element deepening global injustice."
"If we are to discuss a just media order on a global scale today, then as humanity, we are obligated to establish a healthy balance between justice and power for the assurance of peace, prosperity, and stability on a global scale."
Türkiye's international struggle led by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is an honourable fight against global injustice, he added.
