AI Safety at TOBB ETÜ: Risks and Opportunities
At a gathering organised by TOBB ETÜ, AI Safety Türkiye and SAIN in Ankara, we discussed the central questions of AI safety, its risks and opportunities.
The field of AI safety presents anyone looking for answers with five fundamental questions:
How capable are today’s AI systems? How did this progress become possible in just a few years? How well do we really understand these systems? Where could this trajectory take the world? And what can we do about the risks?
On the evening of 4 August 2026 in Ankara, these questions were discussed at an “AI Safety” gathering organised jointly by the TOBB ETÜ Computer Society, AI Safety Türkiye and SAIN. In his presentation, “An Introduction to AI Safety: Risks and Opportunities”, our co-founder Berke Çelik used the first four questions to explain where the field stands today. With the fifth, he explored the paths opening up in the coming years for those who want AI to develop in ways that benefit humanity.
The room brought together students from different departments, participants from outside the university and people just beginning to take an interest in the field. Questions ranged from technical issues to how to get involved in AI safety.
We thank Prof. Dr. Murat Özbayoğlu, Head of the Department of Artificial Intelligence Engineering at TOBB ETÜ, for inviting us; Maya Ozbayoglu for her key role in making the gathering happen and for her presentation; the TOBB ETÜ Computer Society team; and Berke Çelik for representing us with his talk.
A community of people thinking about AI safety and taking action is growing in Türkiye. See you at the next gathering.