Turkic States agree on information policy and media cooperation in the AI era

Heads of agencies responsible for media and information in Organization of Turkic States (OTS) member countries held their 8th meeting in Astana. Participants discussed coordinating the bloc's information policy in the age of artificial intelligence, introducing digital technologies and strengthening media cooperation across the Turkic world. The meeting approved an OTS action plan through 2027 and set the venue and timing of the 9th meeting.

Astana also hosted the jubilee Astana Media Week 2026 forum, where AI in journalism and trust in the digital environment were key topics. Kazakhstan's First Deputy Minister of Culture and Information, Kanat Iskakov, said the country's media sphere had changed fundamentally over 10 years: outlets grew from 2,500 to more than 5,500, and internet coverage rose from 75% to 98%. He proposed unified ethical norms for AI use in newsrooms.

Alexander Belilovsky, deputy director of the Central Communications Service under the President of Kazakhstan, warned that media could become "invisible" as users increasingly get news from AI assistants such as ChatGPT, Gemini and DeepSeek without visiting news sites. Kazakhstan has also become the first country in the region to adopt an AI law, which requires human control, labelling of AI-generated content and places responsibility on journalists.