As the world delves into the true capabilities of artificial intelligence and its various models, distinct types of these systems are being released to the public each day. From chatbots such as OpenAI’s ChatGPT and Google’s Gemini model to tools that produce unique images like OpenAI’s Dall-E, interactions between humans and AI tools are becoming a day-to-day occurrence. The development of these technologies has pushed countries to invest more resources into AI development, with the United States and China being leading countries in the industry. Although these countries are leaders in the field, others have also begun to research and invest in their respective AI machines. One of these countries is now Türkiye, with its first AI language model called T3AI’LE now available to the public.
The T3AI’LE model is developed by the T3 Foundation (also known as the Turkish Technology Team), which is a group of many talented minds that come together to research, develop and implement products with contributions to the technology and business industries. Their projects include Teknofest (Türkiye’s most prominent technology and aerospace festival) and many scholarship programs to support Türkiye’s next generation of engineers and inventors. The T3AI’LE project was initially announced by Selçuk Bayraktar, the Chairman of the Board of Trustees for the Turkish Technology Team, in 2023 during the Take off Entrepreneurship Summit. The project was later announced to be fully available to the public in late 2024.
The project in particular is a Turkish-centered language processing project, also referred to as a large language model (LLM). According to the official website, it aims to play a significant role in the digital transformation sector, and allow for the free-flow of information while conquering existing language barriers. It has an overall goal of benefitting society through collaborative efforts and cultural understanding. With a Turkish-centered language processing system being prioritized in the making, it will be useful for those in Türkiye by connecting Turkish society through one model. Although full details of the capabilities of the tool aren’t clear yet, the LLM aims to produce high-quality, accurate texts in Turkish to completely capture the special grammar, contexts and cultural nuances of the language. It is an important step in nurturing the full complexity of a language through an artificial intelligence lens.
Another key aspect of the T3AI’LE that makes it special compared to similar tools is that it is an “open-source project”. What this means is that citizens can volunteer and help make the project more inclusive, and be a part of the commitment to developing this tool. The spelling of the project is also a reference to this community-driven approach, with the last four letters spelling out AILE, which means family in Turkish. The tool and its contributors are essentially creating a family of young minds that can work on this AI initiative. This approach to democratizing AI is notable. Readers who wish to be a part of this journey can sign up to volunteer through MHT's website.
The T3AI’LE project is not the only one in the realm of artificial intelligence made by Turkish individuals. Another tool is called Insider, an AI-driven platform that helps suppliers and markets learn about their consumer’s behavior through connecting, understanding and predicting the buyers’ actions using AI. Once this data is evaluated, markets can make better decisions regarding their next marketing techniques to appeal to more individuals. Their tool has gained global recognition, to now a team of more than 1000 individuals including over 51 nationalities. They have also worked with top 1,200 brands, including Coca Cola, Mac, Allianz, Adidas, and more. Due to their excellent worldwide accomplishments, Insider became a “unicorn” company in 2022 as it was one of Türkiye’s first software companies that surpassed a value of $1 billion. A unicorn company is a privately owned startup company with an estimated worth above $1 billion dollars. Together with the upcoming T3AI’LE, these companies demonstrate hope for the future of Türkiye in regards to the adaption and development of AI models.
These two companies are just some of the examples of a future filled with hope in regards to technological advancements. T3AI’LE for one, has just been launched to the public with significant room for development. Investing time and money into these technological advancements creates hope for the country, and prioritizing the nurturing of the Turkish language and the input of Turkish young minds fills the country with exciting opportunities.
Edited by: Derya Yener