A real 'Artificial Intelligence' training...

I recently read an article published in The Economist. The piece compared the leaders of the AI era to the great figures of the industrial age, such as Henry Ford and Rockefeller. At first glance, it seems logical. Because throughout history, major technological transformations have indeed been shaped around a few big names. Ford mass-produced the automobile. Rockefeller organized the oil economy. Bezos transformed internet logistics. The Economist's core thesis is: “The AI revolution could create a similar historical rupture.”

I think that is exactly where the problem begins. Because The Economist is still looking at the issue through the logic of the industrial revolution. That is, technology emerges, industry transforms, the economy changes, and new billionaires are created. Yet, what is happening today is, in my opinion, not just a new industrial revolution. It is something bigger. Perhaps it is the redesigning of the world.

That is why the Henry Ford analogy feels incomplete to me. The more accurate historical parallel, I believe, is the transition period from feudalism to nation-states. Because that era did not just experience an economic transformation. Humanity's power relations, legal systems, forms of communication, sense of belonging, warfare, and economic models were rewritten. What we see in artificial intelligence today is similar to this.

This brings to mind Technofeudalism: What Killed Capitalism directly. The book's author, Yanis Varoufakis, presents a very controversial but important thesis. He argues that capitalism is beginning to transform in its classical sense, and in its place, a new platform-centered digital feudal order is emerging. This thesis might sound harsh at first, but when you look closely at today's AI companies, an interesting parallel emerges.

In the feudal era, power came from controlling land, transit routes, production, and security. Today, those who control data centers, GPUs, models, information flow, API access, and digital identities hold the power. But the most important point is this: After feudalism, it was not just large companies that were born in history. Centralized nation-states were born.

Now look at the world of artificial intelligence. Every major model is starting to have its own laws, its own censorship system, its own moral understanding, its own economic order, and its own user ecosystem. OpenAI is another world. Google DeepMind is another world. xAI is another world. Anthropic is an entirely different world.

These are no longer just technology companies. They are structures that are beginning to establish their own digital sovereign territories. Perhaps this is exactly the point The Economist is missing. We might not be watching new industrial bosses, but new digital state-builders.

That is why the relationships OpenAI has developed with the American Department of Defense and the military are not details to be underestimated. On the contrary. When you look at history, a significant portion of major brands made their leap thanks to the relationships they established with states and armies.

For example, Mercedes-Benz. The origins of Mercedes were directly linked to the German state structure and military needs. Especially during wartime, it experienced a serious engineering leap through military vehicles, engine technologies, and logistics systems. Boeing would not be the Boeing we know today without the American defense industry. IBM grew with state infrastructures during the Cold War. Intel placed itself at the center of semiconductor wars. Palantir Technologies was built directly on state security architecture.

Even the internet itself was a military project. ARPANET.

That is why OpenAI's approach to the defense sector is not an ordinary commercial move. Historically speaking, this is an entry ticket to the global power architecture.

But there is another problem here. The relationship our geography has established with technology.

The other day, I saw the comments regarding the logo competition held by Erzincanspor. People were surprised that the logos were produced with artificial intelligence, and some even tried to belittle it. It is the year 2026. People are still in the state of shock of “Can you make a logo with artificial intelligence?” What is expected, I don't understand. Stone carving? Hand-crafting the emblem?

It is precisely because of this reflex that this geography watches most technological transformations from the outside.

Because here, technology is first belittled. Despising technique, thinking the new thing is a toy, and thinking you know everything has almost become a cultural reflex. Then, the technology starts making money. Suddenly, everyone starts drooling. This time, everyone attacks that field at the same time.

While the internet was rising in the West, people here were trying to design websites like digital brochures. We were explaining that the internet was a new economic field. No one was interested. Until Yahoo rose on the stock market. That day, suddenly everyone started saying, “This internet business must be very important.”

In the years we were talking about the internet at Boğaziçi University, some academics wouldn't even come to listen, let alone discuss it. Years later, the same people started saying, “If I could just understand this internet, I would shake things up.” I always thought the same thing to myself: “If your mind were truly suited for this, you would be the one standing here today, not me.”

Today, I see the same cycle in artificial intelligence.

In Turkey today, everyone gets excited when the words e-commerce, gaming, startup, and AI are mentioned. But no one asks this question: What culture of production are these the result of?

Because technology is not just a tool. It is a way of thinking.

Right now, the same mistake is being made again. Instead of following those who truly understand the business, people are following those who make the most noise. What happens after a while? They pour all their capital into where they see a trend. Then, most of them go bankrupt.

Because the issue is not investing money in technology. It is truly understanding technology.

I know the result.

They will be left out again.

Because the issue is not writing prompts. It is changing the mindset.

Microsoft still sees AI as an Office-layer problem today. Google is still adding AI to existing products. Meta is acting with the psychology of “let's not fall behind.” These may all be powerful companies, but in my opinion, they are thinking with the reflexes of the old world. Because the real rupture is not developing products. It is establishing a new digital sovereignty model.

Within all of this, in my opinion, the institution that reads the times most accurately is still Anthropic. Because they did not just try to produce a more powerful model. They first tried to understand how artificial intelligence thinks. A significant portion of the work they did before Claude was based on reverse engineering. They asked questions like, “How does this system behave internally?”, “How is the decision-making mechanism formed?”, “Why does the model answer this way?”

This approach is very different. Because a significant portion of other companies see artificial intelligence as a performance race. Anthropic, on the other hand, acts more like it is building a new cognitive system. It is no coincidence that Claude now generates its own code, optimizes its own processes, and develops its own production systems.

That is why the greatest power of the future may not just be the richest company. The greatest power may be the structure that can establish its own digital order, its own rules, its own economic sphere, and its own user civilization.

Perhaps what we are experiencing today is not a new industrial revolution.

It is the founding period of new digital nations.

Perhaps that is why the training I will conduct on June 3–4 is not a classic “AI training” for me. It can be thought of as a continuation of the Future 101 and Future 102 courses I previously conducted within the Boğaziçi University Alumni Association. But this time, the issue will not just be using tools; it will be understanding how artificial intelligence is redesigning the economy, media, states, and even human thought. Those who truly want to be a part of this transformation can reach the training poster via this link:

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In Brief

* Meta Platforms is rapidly transforming its organizational structure into an “AI native” model while shifting thousands of its employees to AI-focused teams. With new structures like Applied AI Engineering, the company is now trying to transform from a social media company into an AI infrastructure company.

* Arm Holdings CEO Rene Haas announced that the slowdown in the smartphone market and the memory crisis have turned growth negative. The company is now shifting its focus to AI data centers. It seems that as the “phone era” approaches saturation, the new war will take place in data centers.

* An AI startup called Artisan launched a highly provocative advertising campaign with the slogan “Stop Hiring Humans.” The campaign, which highlights AI sales agents, was moved to billboards in San Francisco and New York. Positioning artificial intelligence not as a helper tool but as a direct employee alternative in the business world has sparked serious debate.

* Uber acquired 85 percent of Trendyol Go for approximately 700 million dollars. The platform is now being restructured under the “Uber Eats Trendyol Go” brand. Global competition in the logistics and delivery sector in Turkey is being moved to a new level.

* There is a significant development on the Pardus side. The transition to Pardus is continuing on approximately 650 thousand smart boards within the Ministry of National Education. The use of domestic software is becoming an increasingly strategic issue not only in terms of cost but also in terms of digital sovereignty.

* At the 9th e-Safe Personal Data Protection Summit held in Ankara, the theme of “The Future of Personal Data Protection” came to the fore. Cybersecurity, data protection, and national data sovereignty are now being discussed not just as technical issues, but directly as geopolitical ones.

* This month, the Turkish edition of WIRED magazine was published for the first time. In an era where technology culture is being reshaped through global media brands, this initiative seems noteworthy.

Influencers Worth Following in Turkey

* Mehmet Sungur – @dr.mehmet_sungur

* Özgür Bolat – @dr.ozgurbolat

* DOT Theatre – @dottiyatro_dottheatre

* Reha Altınok – @rehaaltinok

* İdil Yürük – @yidil

* Sedat Bayrak – @sedatbayrak

* Ali Nesin – @alinesin_gercek

* Zaytung – @zaytungcom

* Ioanna Kuçuradi – @ioanna.kucuradi

* Hakan Karahan – @hakankarahanofficial

Influencers I Follow Globally

1. Dwayne Johnson – @therock

2. Anthony Howe – @anthony.howe.art

3. Max Amini – @maxcomedian

4. The Wall Street Journal – @wsj

5. Formula One – @f1

6. Prada – @prada

7. Mansour Bahrami – @mansourbahramiofficial

8. Banksy – @banksy

9. Montblanc – @montblanc

10. Cartier – @cartier