TIW26, organized by the Turkish Exporters Assembly (TİM) with the support of the Ministry of Commerce at the Haliç Congress Center, is being held this year with the theme "Humanity 6.0 - The New Phase of Humanity".
Speaking at the opening of the event, which was held for the 13th time, TİM President Mustafa Gültepe said that they will bring together the business world, scientists, entrepreneurs and young people throughout the three-day organization.
Stating that they will host another meeting where new ideas are born, new collaborations are established and new success stories begin, Gültepe stated that this year's theme is "Humanity 6.0 - The New Phase of Humanity".
Gültepe noted that every major technological development throughout history has changed human life and the way of production, and explained that the industrial revolution, which started with steam power, accelerated with electricity and moved to new dimensions with automation and digitalization.
Stating that today they have opened the doors of a brand new era led by artificial intelligence, Gültepe said that artificial intelligence has entered every field from production to trade, machines learn, algorithms make decisions.
"Innovation is the historical reflex of these lands"
Mustafa Gültepe continued his words by asking the question of whether the human or the machine will make the final decision in this process:
"Our answer is clear, people are at the center of this great transformation. The history of transformation was written in these lands. The people of these lands established underground cities in Cappadocia, which could accommodate 20 thousand people a thousand years ago. We are talking about cities that are complete engineering marvels, with ventilation and water systems. This was also an innovation. 800 years ago, El-Cezeri designed water-powered machines in the Artuklu Palace in Diyarbakır. These machines are the first examples of robotics today. "This was also an innovation. In short, innovation is the historical reflex of these lands and the source of this reflex has always been humans."
Gültepe stated that the compass of the new age points to people and said, "We prepared TIW26 with this understanding. For three days, we will talk about trust in the age of artificial intelligence, the new organization of companies, the new rules of competition in the industry and the people of the future." he said.
"We want it to be imagined, designed and coded in Türkiye"
TİM President Gültepe pointed out the goal of moving Türkiye among the top 10 exporting countries in the world and made the following evaluations:
"We have production experience, industrial infrastructure and entrepreneurial power for this goal. Now we want to combine this power with more innovation, more R&D and higher technology. We have made significant progress in this field. We have more than doubled our exports of high and medium-high technology products in 10 years. Last year, it reached 112 billion dollars. We rose 23 places in the Global Innovation Index in 13 years. Of course, we do not see this progress as sufficient. We in Türkiye dream of "We want it to be designed in Türkiye, coded in Türkiye, developed in Türkiye, and bear the signature of Türkiye. As TİM, we continue all our work with this vision."
Gültepe explained that in this context, they improve the innovation capacity of companies with İnovaLİG, support young people with İnovaTİM, and new ideas and entrepreneurs with Türkiye's Entrepreneurs program.
"Technology leaders of the future will emerge from this hall, and world brands will be born."
Mustafa Gültepe stated that 65 percent of young people between the ages of 16-24 in Türkiye use productive artificial intelligence, and that the rate of those using artificial intelligence in companies remains at 14 percent.
Emphasizing that the biggest obstacle for companies that want to switch to artificial intelligence is "lack of expertise", Gültepe made the following statements:
"Here, you are our greatest assurance. Your knowledge, courage and productivity will close this gap. Today, you use artificial intelligence the most. Tomorrow, you will be the ones producing it. I believe this wholeheartedly. As TİM, we are always with you on this journey. Today, we will reward our young people who are successful in the InovaTIM and Türkiye's Entrepreneurs competitions. Tomorrow, we will crown the success of our InovaLIG champions. I believe that the technology leaders of the future will emerge from this hall, world brands will be born and Türkiye's exports will increase." "It will be your signature on their success."
On the first day of the three-day event, speeches titled "Humanity 6.0: Why Are Humans at the Center Again in the Age of AI?", "Agentic AI: From Creating Content to Doing Business" and "E-Commerce and Innovation in the Age of Artificial Intelligence" were given, along with speeches titled "Crisis of Reality: What, Whom and How Do We Trust?", "The Brain Exporters: From Brain Drain to Global Talent Networks" and "The New Organigram of the Company: People and Artificial Intelligence Agents Are One" Panels titled "In the meantime" will be held.
