Ecem Buse Sevinç Çubuk

The rapid advancement of AI technologies offers transformative opportunities alongside significant risks. AI can enhance global cooperation in areas such as healthcare and climate governance but also poses threats to international security through autonomous weapons, surveillance, and disinformation. This study examines AI’s dual role in shaping a generative world order, analyzing the U.S.-China competition and the EU’s regulatory interventions. Our analysis reveals that AI is not only a technological frontier but also a geopolitical fault line, fostering a world order where normative, economic, and security concerns converge. While the U.S. and China lead AI innovation, their escalating geopolitical tensions and economic rivalry highlight AI’s geopolitical significance. The EU, despite its limited AI industry capacity, shapes global norms through regulatory frameworks. Although Türkiye is not currently a leading actor, it emerges as a potential regional mediator, leveraging its geopolitical positioning and growing AI initiatives. This paper frames AI’s techno-political implications within global order theories, highlighting Türkiye’s soft-balancing approach as a novel case in middle-power diplomacy in the AI era.