Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said the world is facing a labour transformation on the scale of the Industrial Revolution, driven by artificial intelligence, robotics and rapid technological change.
Speaking at the OECD 6th Skills Summit in Istanbul on Monday, Erdogan said governments must properly understand and manage the shift as jobs disappear, new professions emerge, and human capital becomes the defining factor of national strength.
“Even looking at the reality of so-called ‘dark factories’ alone is enough to show that we are facing a transformation wave in labour similar to the Industrial Revolution,” he said.
He described fully automated production facilities—known as dark factories—as a clear sign of how deeply the workplace is changing.
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Erdogan said the global robotics market, currently valued at around $100 billion, is expected to reach $25 trillion by 2050, underlining the scale of the transformation ahead.
While the rise of AI offers major opportunities, he warned it also brings serious social risks if countries fail to prepare their workforces.
He pointed to structural inequalities that leave women, migrants and disadvantaged students unable to fully participate in the economy.
“No country that leaves a significant part of its human capital idle can embark on a truly strong development drive,” he said.
