Capital’s Preferences: AI, Strategic Industries and the Investment Race

This session examines how technological transformation and geopolitical uncertainty shape investment preferences. The focus is less on what technology is changing than on the areas capital favors in response to these changes.

Production is shifting from the long-dominant logic of “just in time” towards one of “just in case”. Supply chain disruptions, difficulties in accessing raw materials and rising production costs are forcing businesses to consider resilience alongside efficiency. Governments have begun to view semiconductors, energy, defense and critical minerals as integral to economic security. As a result, certain investments have moved from being commercial choices to becoming strategic priorities. Yet the speed and durability of this shift remain uncertain and depend on how geopolitical tensions evolve.

AI and robotics play a dual role in this process. They promise productivity gains in response to rising costs and geopolitical risks, while also constituting a new field of investment that requires large amounts of capital. By replacing labor in some tasks and complementing it in others, AI is also reshaping the relationship between capital, labor and technology, and thus the fundamental equation of production.

The session is expected to address the following topics:

• Supply chain disruptions, access to raw materials and production costs
• The shift from efficiency towards strategic resilience, and the relocation of production
• The effects of investment in AI and robotics on costs and competition
• The investment race in strategic industries and opportunities for Türkiye