Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure Deputy Minister Dr. Ömer Fatih Sayan attended the Informatics Summit organized this year under the theme “DataTalks”.
Speaking at the opening of the Informatics Summit, which has been taking the pulse of the informatics sector for 19 years, UAB Deputy Minister Dr. Ömer Fatih Sayan addressed topics such as data analytics, big data, artificial intelligence, the Internet of Things, and secure communication networks. Stating that data is the valid currency for the development and progress of countries, Sayan noted that we have reached the point where we even generate data with our heartbeats and breaths. Sharing his views on the changes artificial intelligence brings to daily life, Sayan said, “As a result of the acceleration of artificial intelligence studies, we can say that artificial intelligence has now turned into a main branch of science. Artificial Intelligence is very broad and divided into sub-branches. Just as physics is no longer just physics (you can think of the same for Artificial Intelligence with Mechanical Physics, Electrical Physics, Thermodynamics, Optics, etc.). There are many starting points for artificial intelligence that change depending on the person who wants to conduct research or work on it. First of all, you need to decide what you want to do in the upper branch of science called Artificial Intelligence; while determining your strategy, you will need to look separately from all windows such as the Internet of Things, cloud, big data analytics, artificial intelligence, augmented reality, robot technologies, not just from the artificial intelligence upper window.”
Sayan explained the studies conducted in this regard as follows: “In today's world, where collecting data, controlling volume, density, and data flow gains meaning through processing data, the BTK BAB Big Data Laboratory, which we have put into operation under BTK, stands out as a project that provides laboratory conditions for infrastructure and software service services that experts, academics, and scientists working in the fields of Big Data and Artificial Intelligence may need. The powerful hardware infrastructure and diverse big data environments in this laboratory are an important center for the development of big data analytics and artificial intelligence applications.”
Deputy Minister Sayan also spoke about 5G, one of the intensive work areas of our country. Expressing that 5G technology will make a fundamental change, Sayan said, “5G technology will radically change data flow and processing, machine-to-machine communication, especially IoT architectures. With 5G, which is expected to be much faster than 4G and incomparable to it, the path for the economy to become fully digital end-to-end will be completely opened. Together with 5G, next-generation mobile communication technologies will address different use cases and business models with different requirements, enabling a fully mobile and connected society. 5G technologies will play an important role in strengthening socio-economic transformations by making significant contributions to increasing productivity, sustainability, efficiency, and overall welfare levels.”
Sayan also conveyed that they are doing everything they can to be among the first countries to use 5G. Noting that collaborations and joint studies are being conducted, Sayan said, “It is estimated that the number of connected devices will reach 26 billion in 2020. For existing mobile communication technologies not to experience congestion in meeting such a high demand increase, both fiber and 5th generation communication systems and technologies installation are very important for us.”
Turkey's 2023 vision was also on Sayan’s agenda. Emphasizing that their works are centered around this vision, Sayan said, “For this purpose, we are conducting high value-added innovative studies in Turkey. As the Ministry, by coming together with sector stakeholders, we are seeking ways to do more than our best to become one of the countries that produce technology with domestic and national means to the highest possible extent. When we say domestic and national, what I want to emphasize here is actually the awareness of values that do not carry dependency and that we dominate consciousness rather than information. While reiterating once again that we attach great importance to this unity, I am pleased to convey that we will continue our studies with all our effort and belief in the upcoming process.”
Deputy Minister Sayan: Artificial Intelligence Will Be the Most Important Argument for Countries with Ambitions
Evaluating the point reached by artificial intelligence, Sayan said, “Artificial intelligence, which will inevitably take up much more space in every area of our lives in the coming years, will be the most important argument for countries with an ideal or ambition in future periods. It is foreseen that a large part of these countries' projects will be linked to artificial intelligence to a greater or lesser extent. Currently, the world's leading technology companies, e-commerce platforms, and social media companies are increasing their investments in the artificial intelligence field to have a say in this area in the future. So much so that when we look at the world's top 10 companies, we see that 8 of them are based on information and technology. As the Ministry, we are also endeavoring to include artificial intelligence in our supports for our technology, ecosystem, and domestic software. We are rapidly continuing our studies for our country to have a say in the global market where artificial intelligence takes place in the coming years. We also accept that we have a long way to go in terms of technology and software as a country.”
Sayan said that the increasing data problem also brings cyber security issues. Emphasizing that USOM, operating under BTK, works 7/24 to ensure our country's cyber security, Sayan shared the following information about the studies: “Our threat hunter friends at USOM detected a zero-day (0-day) vulnerability in a modem widely used by corporate customers. Zero-day vulnerabilities are names given to unknown security vulnerabilities that have not been detected by anyone before. Detecting such zero-day vulnerabilities before cyber attackers find them is of great importance.” Underscoring that domestic and national means are used at USOM, Sayan stated that most cyber attacks targeting our country are Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) and Phishing attacks.
Deputy Minister Sayan also touched upon the studies conducted worldwide to solve certain shortages in technological terms, stating that the world of the future is built on the frequency spectrum. Expressing that the National Monitoring System has been developed for the effective and efficient use of the frequency spectrum, one of our country's scarce and very valuable resources, and for the detection of harmful effects, Sayan said, “With the National Monitoring System, which for the first time in our country combines frequency-dependent precise location detection, unlicensed broadcasts and interference analysis, and automatic modulation recognition technologies on a central web platform, we will both conduct our spectrum activities completely domestically and nationally, and contribute to our country's high-tech exports.”