The seventh event in the Intellectual Interaction Meetings series, titled “Artificial Intelligence Supported Media: Democratisation or Totalitarianism?”, was held on Tuesday, May 20, 2025, at the Teoman Duralı Conference Hall. The event was moderated by our School of Communication member Assist. Prof. Hakkı Öcal and featured Assoc. Prof. Begüm Aylin Önder (Istanbul Arel University) and Assoc. Prof. Derya Gül Ünlü (Istanbul University) as speakers.
The first speaker was Assoc. Prof. Derya Gül Ünlü, faculty member at Istanbul University’s Faculty of Communication and Chair of the AIPA Media and Communication Commission. Ünlü discussed the transformative impact of AI-supported media technologies in the context of user interaction. She noted that AI possesses production capabilities that can surpass human perception due to its unique method of processing information. Emphasizing that these technologies accelerate not only content production but also broader cultural transformation processes, Ünlü explained that algorithmic selections—previously present in traditional journalism—have now evolved into far more sophisticated forms. “We are learning AI, but it is also learning us,” she stated, highlighting how this reciprocal interaction is reshaping media users.
Assoc. Prof. Begüm Aylin Önder, Vice Dean of Istanbul Arel University’s Faculty of Communication and a member of the AIPA Media and Communication Commission, spoke about how AI-supported media tools are integrated into individual experiences and their roles in academic and creative processes. Önder noted that media production and distribution processes are no longer shaped from a single center, but rather through multi-layered algorithmic structures. This shift, she argued, also transforms perceptions of individual freedom. While AI-supported media environments offer possibilities for democratization, they also carry risks of disinformation and manipulation, she emphasized. “We are faced with a media regime shaped by content aligned with our beliefs, within filter bubbles,” said Önder. In this context, she pointed out that beyond data collection, processes such as behavioral prediction and behavioral steering being converted into economic value has become one of the core dynamics of the new media order.
The event raised not only the opportunities provided by AI-supported media technologies but also the ethical, cultural, and political questions that accompany them. Participants were offered a critical perspective on media regimes in the digital age through this session, where academic and professional experiences were blended.
The Intellectual Interaction Meetings will continue to explore current issues through an interdisciplinary approach and provide platforms for intellectual engagement in upcoming events.
