The 18th Istanbul Informatics Congress was organized by the Turkish Informatics Association (TBD), one of the world’s oldest informatics associations, at the Üsküdar Science Center with the agenda “Overcoming Boundaries in E-Commerce with Artificial Intelligence.” The congress brought together public and private sector representatives, providing participants with the opportunity to learn how artificial intelligence technologies are being utilized in various sectors.

Firstly, it should be noted that although the congress agenda was centered on artificial intelligence and e-commerce, the speakers also addressed different topics. Use of artificial intelligence in municipalities and city management and smart city applications were discussed. Cybersecurity was another prominent topic at the congress. In this framework, issues such as secure internet, combating IT crimes, and protecting information systems from various viruses and cyber attacks were addressed by experts.

Thus, the Turkish Informatics Association held a gathering that was consistent with its mission and vision and enlightened everyone concerned with the topic. It is evident that artificial intelligence holds great importance in all sectors, and a major transformation awaits us, especially within the next decade. Therefore, the essential matter is anticipating how the machine-human interaction, which has been ongoing since the early stages of the industrial revolution, is being transformed by artificial intelligence and predicting its negative effects. Only then can effective legal regulations be possible.

The industrial revolution made many products accessible, developed mass communication tools, and spread and advanced many services, especially in healthcare. Conversely, negative effects such as environmental problems, increased social inequality, and alienation are also results brought forth by the industrial revolution.

These contradictions will be further sharpened by the increasing influence of artificial intelligence in every area of life. If we want to prevent the world of the future from becoming a **cyberpunk dystopia**, we must enact the necessary regulations today. However, regulating the technologies of the future today is a difficult task. This is because projections about the future may not hold true. In such a case, the regulations made will not align with concrete reality, leading to problems in terms of legal effectiveness. This is precisely why academic and sectoral gatherings, like the recent congress, and the discussion of the subject from different perspectives by various experts, are of great importance.

Av. Celil Aktaş, LL.M.