Turkey Informatics Association's 37th National Informatics Congress this year has the theme “Digital Reality and Society 6.0”.
Speaking at the program, Dr. Ömer Fatih Sayan, Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure, spoke about the importance they attach to domestic and national production. Stating that it is important for Turkey to focus on domestic and national production, Sayan said, “Today, as a respected member of the international community with advanced technology, we once again understand how important it is to use it only and solely within the framework of our own legal interests without being accountable to anyone. In this context, as I have emphasized many times before, I reiterate once again how crucial it is for both our state institutions and our private companies to conduct independent technological studies in every field.”
Emphasizing that Turkey is at a very important point in the defense industry today, Sayan said, “It disturbs Turkey's false friends as well. If they are disturbed, it means we are on the right path.”
Deputy Minister Sayan also mentioned the studies conducted during the pandemic period. Drawing attention to the fact that digital transformation is no longer a choice or preference but a complete necessity today, Sayan said, “Technological developments not only affect many sectors but also lead to the emergence of a completely different digital dimension as an alternative to physical reality. With digital reality applications, people can now virtually visit a museum or an ancient city at the other end of the world without leaving their homes, attend a meeting like this one right now, or engage in their favorite adventure sports in a digital environment without getting injured.”
Deputy Minister Sayan: We Are Now Talking About Society 6.0
Stating that versions of societies' digital transformation are now being discussed today, Sayan said, “After Society 5.0, we are now talking about Society 6.0. While discussing the changes brought by Society 5.0, which is a 'super smart society' with high-level integration of cyberspace and the physical world, we are now talking about unmanned projects entirely built on the internet, software, and robots with Society 6.0. In other words, with Society 6.0, we will experience a period where unmanned life projects will be at the forefront.”
Sayan also mentioned developments in data. Sharing the information that 90% of the world's digital data pool was created in the last three years, Sayan said, “It is clear that a large part of this data pool is generated through social media, which has become an indispensable part of life. Social media companies generate billions of dollars in revenue by utilizing user data with their extensive user bases. Despite these revenues, we observe that they do not develop the necessary preventive and protective mechanisms to protect individuals' rights.”
Drawing attention to the important steps taken in becoming domestic and national with the studies carried out under the guidance of the “National Technology Move,” Sayan said, “Standardization studies for 5G are ongoing. We are closely following these studies. Works for 6G have also started in our country. With 6G, studies focusing on Terahertz waves are expected due to the increasing bandwidth needs. For this purpose, we held a Terahertz workshop as a result of collaboration with Japan's National Institute of Information and Communications Technology and Medipol University. Valuable academics, sector stakeholders, and Japanese representatives shared knowledge at the workshop. Additionally, various universities are holding 6G workshops and sharing information on ongoing 6G studies. Our goal is to be among the first countries to implement new technologies with domestic and national capabilities.”
President Karagözoğlu: Digitalization is Radically Changing Individuals' Lives
Drawing attention to the transformations experienced with the increasing digitalization today, Ömer Abdullah Karagözoğlu, President of the Information Technologies and Communication Authority, also touched upon the growing importance of mobile infrastructures in our lives. Stating that the digitalization process brings fundamental changes to the lives of individuals and societies, Karagözoğlu said, “The transformations in society life are defined with concepts like Society 5.0 and Society 6.0. The concept defined as Society 5.0 today actually proposes a 'super smart society' model where the relationship between people and machines/robots is provided in the most efficient way by evaluating the impact of digitalization from demographic, economic, and sociological perspectives. The next stage after Society 5.0, Society 6.0, appears as an unmanned life project and refers to a period where many sectors are completely transformed onto the internet, software, and robots.”
Stating that this situation is also reflected in public works, Karagözoğlu said, “In our country, e-government applications are developing rapidly, and new services are being added. As BTK, we are also making significant contributions to this process. We are conducting studies together with our operators to add new services to those offered through e-government. In October, we ensured that another new service is provided through e-government. We enabled our citizens to make cancellation applications for telephone, internet, and cable TV services from wherever they are through the e-government portal without going to the operator's dealer or office. Looking at the numbers in the Covid-19 pandemic process where contactless transactions are important, we see that our citizens are effectively benefiting from this service and are satisfied.”
President Karagözoğlu: As BTK, We Are at the Heart of Technology
Karagözoğlu said, “Undoubtedly, the developments in mobile technologies in recent years are one of the most important accelerators on the road to digital transformation. As BTK, we are at the heart of technological developments. We are working to bring future technologies to our citizens. Our top agenda items include 5G and beyond technologies. We see 5G not just as 'more speed' but as the key to technological transformation. We are working with all our might to transition to 5G with domestic and national capabilities in the shortest possible time.”
Emphasizing that they are carrying out all their efforts to contribute to Turkey's digital transformation, Karagözoğlu concluded his speech by saying, “As BTK, we support our children and youth in their career paths in software and technology. Through our Ministry and BTK, in collaboration with the Ministry of Treasury and Finance, we provide trainings via BTK Academy within the scope of the '1 Million Employment' project. Currently, there are 562,873 users on the BTK Academy Online Training Platform. We want to invite not only young people who want to become software developers but everyone from all ages and professions to the platform. Software will become as mandatory as a foreign language. In the future, all professions will be required to know software. Our goal within the project is to train 1 million new software developers by 2023.”