Aegean’s tech giants take stage to talk AI, new opportunities
A MAJOR event this week brought together the big companies of the Aegean region, shedding light on artificial technologies, with a focus on technological transformation in many industries, from automotive to logistics.
The Digital Transformation Summit, organized by the Aegean Young Businesspeople Association (EGIAD) and the Aegean Industrialists and Businesspeople Association (ESIAD) for the second time, transformed into a platform dominated by stories of AI-focused initiatives and digital transformation applications.
Addressing the shortage of human resources in digital transformation and proposing education strategies for next-generation technology talents, EGIAD Chair Alp Avni Yelkenbiçer particularly emphasized the opportunities created by artificial intelligence and the new business areas it would bring.
ESIAD President Sibel Zorlu also provided examples of productivity increases through artificial intelligence technology with figures.
Perihan Inci, a board member of the Turkish Industry and Business Association (TÜSİAD), highlighted not only the opportunities presented by AI but also the evolving legal and ethical standards and threats posed by the laws introduced by the European Union.
Speaking at the opening of the meeting, Süleyman Elban, the governor of İzmir, emphasized the importance of focusing on human transformation while discussing technologies where machines communicate with each other and digital transformation. He stated that projects focusing on human transformation are the most crucial need in technology.
During the summit, major industrial organizations of the Aegean region shared both the new opportunities created by artificial intelligence and their long-term experiences of the digital transformation process.
Senior executives from giant corporations like Arkas, Norm Holding, Cevher Group and Philip Morris shared their experiences while explaining their established software teams and the solutions they developed in detail.
Astrophysicist Umut Yıldız provided a unique experience to the audience by discussing technologies used in space research and robots investigating the existence of life forms.
Süreyya Ciliv, who previously founded startups before holding managerial positions at companies like Microsoft and Turkcell, emphasized the importance of having founded startups in the development of a customer-centric engineering approach.
Ciliv stated that technology management in institutions should be pioneering in the company’s transformation and emphasized that responding to customer needs without transformation is no longer possible.