The communicators of the future were discussed in Çanakkale

The annual meeting of communication faculty deans was held in Çanakkale last week. The meeting, hosted by the Faculty of Communication at Çanakkale Onsekiz Mart University, was attended by deans of communication faculties from Turkey and the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus. As is the case every year, the meeting was also attended by Prof. Dr. Aysel Aziz, President of the Communication Research Association (İLAD), and Füsun Özbilgen, the Association's Secretary General. Additionally, the Radio and Television Broadcasters Professional Union (RATEM) provided active participation by organizing a session at the deans' meeting. 

Perhaps one of the most notable aspects of this meeting was the attendance of Çiğdem Savaşçıoğlu, Press and Public Relations Advisor to the Council of Higher Education (YÖK), who gave an informative speech about the science communication initiatives launched by YÖK this year. Universities are institutions that produce science in addition to providing education and training services. However, it is of great importance that scientific outputs do not remain within university campuses but are shared with various segments of society to transform into social contribution. It is important for the development of societies and the progress of humanity that science permeates people's daily life practices, and that scientific jargon is added to and shapes the language and discourse of the public. Çiğdem Savaşçıoğlu pointed out that the 'Science Cafes' planned to be established in all universities will play an important role in this direction. The Science Cafe Project seems poised to contribute to the dissemination of science to the public, the closer communication and interaction of universities with society, the joint production of solutions to problems, and the building of the future together in the light of science. I believe that the fact that the deans of communication faculties embraced the subject and demonstrated their sensitivity to this issue added even more value to this year's Council of Communication Faculty Deans (İLDEK) meeting. 

One of the important topics discussed at the İLDEK meeting was the inclusion of courses related to artificial intelligence in communication faculty curricula. Whether we like it or not, artificial intelligence technology is rapidly entering our lives. All professions and business sectors have begun to examine their futures with a focus on artificial intelligence. The field of communication is the one that will be affected most and fastest by this trend. It is estimated that artificial intelligence will play a role in all news production processes, from data collection to the writing and presentation of news. In fact, many media organizations have already begun to take advantage of the possibilities of artificial intelligence today. It is clear that in the near future, artificial intelligence will be integrated into all production processes in all media organizations. This will certainly have its benefits. It will make very important contributions in terms of faster workflow, more efficient use of time, and faster access to the data that forms the informational infrastructure of news. In this situation, the question of what will happen to journalists occupies many minds. It is precisely at this point that updating communication education with a focus on artificial intelligence becomes important. The necessary planning must be done as soon as possible to avoid being caught unprepared. 

Technology is developing very rapidly. We do not need to wait for technology to adapt to us; we need to adapt to technology. For this, we must raise generations that will take action very quickly. In the face of technology developing at a speed that pushes the limits of the mind, perhaps what needs to be done is to raise generations that think fast, grasp quickly, analyze quickly and accurately, plan quickly, and act quickly. Trying to provide training for every new technology is not the solution to the problem. Coping with this may not be very possible in terms of either time or the human resources to provide the training. But it is possible to raise people with the quality and competence to adapt to change and integrate rapidly into developments. To put it more concretely, for example, introducing courses that will create awareness and provide a basic understanding of artificial intelligence would be good for setting the direction of the compass. 

The implementation of artificial intelligence technology will lead to serious changes in the field of communication, as it does in many professional fields. The journalists of the future will perhaps have artificial intelligence do most of the work. For the television broadcasters of the future, artificial intelligence will be an important area of support. The filmmakers of the future will make films that we perhaps cannot even imagine today with the possibilities of artificial intelligence. The perception managers of the future will perhaps develop much different propaganda techniques with the possibilities of artificial intelligence. 

However, no matter how much technology advances, as it has been until today, the control will remain with humans from now on as well. Technology is very important, but the role of those who use and operate it will be much more decisive. Let us not forget that technology is just an apparatus. A tool produced and developed by humans. The user and the manager are human. Therefore, the decisive factor is always the human. Thus, for the tool to be useful and used in the right direction, the decisive factor, i.e., the human, needs to be trained correctly. And for this, the right education is needed. 

Regardless of the professional field, in order to raise qualified professionals, it is first necessary to raise people who are analytical, well-informed, capable of questioning, critical, and have developed perception and understanding. A person with these characteristics will already be capable of fulfilling the requirements of their profession. If qualified human resources and qualified professionals are raised, no matter how fast technological developments are, they will be adapted to. The important point in communication education is the training of professionals who are analytical, questioning, highly aware, entrepreneurial, and capable of taking quick action. 

What is primary is the quality of the human; the rest is detail.