Üsküdar University Founding Rector, Psychiatrist Prof. Dr. Nevzat Tarhan, met with university students at the ‘Young Business Academy’ hosted by Galatasaray University and organized by Young MÜSİAD. Speaking under the title “Artificial Intelligence and Leadership Psychology,” Tarhan pointed out that leadership is not limited to intelligence and diligence alone; he highlighted the decisive role of virtue, ethics, meaning, and purpose consciousness in leadership. Tarhan also stated that artificial intelligence is transforming decision-making processes and the understanding of leadership.
At the Young Business Academy hosted by Galatasaray University, there was significant interest in Tarhan from university students.
“Every officer is trained as a potential leader”
Psychiatrist Prof. Dr. Nevzat Tarhan, stating that officers are trained as potential leaders, began his speech by saying: “I have a military background; I am a graduate of Kuleli Military High School. Every officer is trained as a potential leader. From the moment they become a lieutenant, they are at least a team leader and are trained with this consciousness. At this point, the Turkish Armed Forces underwent a very significant transformation in the 2000s. I call it a revolution because it was a serious change in the field of scientific leadership. Previously, a classical and charismatic leadership approach prevailed. However, in 2004, under the leadership of Hilmi Özkök, who was the Chief of General Staff at that time, scientific leadership was defined. Leadership was included as a course in all War Academies and began to be taught systematically. Today, when training leader candidates, we see that the capitalist system, in particular, focuses on two main parameters: be intelligent, be diligent. That is, be successful. But is merely being intelligent and diligent enough? You see someone graduating from computer engineering, becoming a hacker. Finishing chemical engineering, producing synthetic cannabis. Graduating from medical school, forming a 'Yenidoğan' gang. All are intelligent, all are diligent. This means a third parameter is needed.”
“Humans are Homo Psychologicus”
Tarhan stated that people mostly make their decisions based on psychological and emotional factors: “When people shop, make purchasing decisions, or invest, they don't act based on basic needs. They usually invest in the area they love most. They invest with appreciation, praise, and applause. There is a dependency on social approval. Investment areas are guided accordingly. Especially artificial intelligence and social media algorithms are currently manipulating this. At this point, humans are Homo Psychologicus. That is, when making decisions, they act with psychological and emotional factors. In 1996, a Portuguese neuroscientist, in his book 'Descartes' Error,' said, ‘I feel, therefore I am,’ instead of ‘I think, therefore I am.’ Later, a neurologist professor at our university wrote a book titled ‘I believe, therefore I am.’ This means the human brain is essentially an organ of belief. Neuroscience demonstrates this. Humans accept what they believe as true and act accordingly, while what they don't believe is filed under suspicious information and not put into practice. This clearly demonstrates how decisive psychological factors are in the human decision-making mechanism, showing that humans are Homo Psychologicus.”
“Fuzzy logic gained a global dimension”
Tarhan stated that artificial intelligence is mathematically modeled: “One of the secret heroes of artificial intelligence is an Azerbaijani. In 1968, he published a confidential paper and introduced the definition of Fuzzy Logic. That is, probability logic. While classical computers work with 1s and 0s, he stated that the fuzzy areas, the grey areas in between, should also be taken into account and created its mathematical modeling. Modal logic, modern logic, and probability logic were defined in the 1920s. Our brain actually has a single function when making decisions. It scans the past and makes predictions about the future. In other words, the brain is a prediction machine, writing scenarios. The Default Mode Network in the middle of the brain creates these scenarios and chooses the strongest or most preferred one to make a decision accordingly. When the mathematical model of artificial intelligence was created, fuzzy logic gained a global dimension. Just as the printing press revolutionized humanity, artificial intelligence is providing a similar transformation by facilitating access to information. For this reason, the understanding of leadership is also changing. The 20th century was the age of information leadership, and the 21st century will be the age of wisdom. For future leaders, adopting a leadership approach that also considers wisdom, instead of the capitalist system's short-term, profit-oriented leadership models, will be critical for long-term leadership.”
“The 21st century is an era where speed and success are glorified”
Tarhan stated that leadership should not be measured solely by intelligence and diligence: “The 21st century is an era where speed and success are glorified. We previously mentioned two parameters: be intelligent, be diligent. The third parameter should be virtue and ethics. If a person possesses virtue and ethics, what truly protects them is not merely good intentions or religiosity, but accountability. Look, the expression 'yawm ad-din' appears in the Surah Al-Fatiha. This word means the Day of Religion. Its Hebrew equivalent means the Day of Reckoning. That is, everyone will be held accountable for the good or bad deeds they have done. Modern life, however, has weakened this sense of accountability. Today, a fast-paced life, a pleasure and profit-oriented philosophy, has pushed this feeling further into the background. Nevertheless, the characteristic of imparting three values still exists. Technology itself is neutral. It is shaped by the intention and purpose of the user. If we use technology for good purposes, we reach our goals faster; if we use it for bad purposes, we become a pawn used by global players. Therefore, our own values have become humanity's greatest need. In true and scientific leadership, a leader does not seek their own benefit but looks for unmet needs. They question which unmet needs of the company or community they manage they can address and act accordingly.”
“We need to teach our brains the happiness of meaning and purpose”
Tarhan stated that short-term pleasure is linked to dopamine, while the happiness of meaning and purpose is linked to serotonin: “There is a difference between dopamine and serotonin. Dopamine is related to concrete pleasures, is short-term, and rapidly depletes in the brain. Moreover, dopamine is most secreted not from expected rewards, but from unexpected rewards. This is why gambling or substance addiction are the areas where dopamine is most secreted in the brain, because unexpected rewards activate brain centers and dopamine peaks. But true and lasting reward is related to achieving a goal or finding meaning. Rumi expresses this with a saying: ‘I was running after pleasures and colors; at that time, I was sick with cancer; when I gave up on this, I found healing.’ Like Majnun’s love for Leyla… When they meet, dopamine briefly rises, then decreases again, and the search begins anew. This cycle repeats. So, how do we protect ourselves from dopamine? Dopamine is secreted in short-term pleasures. Aristotle explained this 2,500 years ago: There are two kinds of happiness. One is hedonic happiness, that is, pleasure and dopamine happiness; the other is eudaimonic happiness, that is, meaning and serotonin happiness. For example, in depression, antidepressants slowly increase serotonin in the brain; their effect emerges over time, not immediately. If we teach the human brain serotonin happiness instead of dopamine happiness, we won't fall into the dopamine trap. Therefore, we need to teach our brains the happiness of meaning and purpose.”
“Resilience is weak in young people; they immediately become disheartened”
Tarhan emphasized the importance of the ability to delay gratification to overcome young people's tendencies toward impatience and hastiness: “One of the weakest aspects of today's youth is hastiness and impatience. For example, if you are preparing for an associate professorship or a language exam, you need to study for a certain period, dedicating specific hours each day. If you are preparing for a university exam, you set goals like solving 100 questions a day. After setting this goal, it is important to gain the ability to say no to things that do not align with the goal. This is technically called the ability to delay gratification. The strength gained through the ability to delay gratification is psychological resilience. In literature, this is called resilience, translated into Turkish as ‘dirençlilik’ (resistance/resilience). It is actually very close to the concept of 'yılmazlık' (unyieldingness/resilience) in our culture. However, today, resilience is weak in young people; they immediately become disheartened and give up quickly.”
“Conscience is not just a feeling…”
Tarhan spoke about the concept of a mental jury in our brain: “Conscience is not just a feeling. Conscience is a braking mechanism located in the frontal lobe of our brain. Our ability to say no to evil stems from here. This braking mechanism is the inhibition area, or stopping area, located in the medial frontal region of the brain. For example, alcohol impairs this area; the person becomes disinhibited, says whatever comes to mind, and can do things they normally wouldn't. If you want to know a person, make them angry, travel with them, or observe them when they are drunk. At that moment, the areas inhibited by the brain emerge. This braking mechanism can be trained. We have a mental jury in our brain that manages this. The judge of this jury decides whether the incoming information is true, safe, useful, compassionate, or beautiful, and consequently makes the most appropriate decision. Do or do not. This is where free will comes into play. Humans are conscious beings, and other living creatures do not possess this characteristic.”
“Whatever a person believes, the brain forms connections related to it”
Tarhan stated that an idealistic, realistic, and activist approach should be adopted in line with the ego ideal: “A person must certainly have an ego ideal. The ego ideal has both a concrete and an abstract structure. There is a goal pyramid; let's consider the question ‘What am I?’ at the very top. Our ultimate goal should be to accumulate good things at the end of our lives. This may seem like a difficult goal in today's world, but carrying our intention is important. Our brain has an invisible feature. Whatever a person believes, the brain forms connections related to it, creates perceptions, and takes a position. Therefore, the brain is an organ that decides according to purpose. For example, a person who says ‘I will get up at 4 AM’ can get up even without setting an alarm, but if they say ‘I might as well get up, or I might not,’ they might miss something important. Thus, we need to program our brains for the long, medium, and short term. This is possible with ego ideals. Here, three characteristics need to be combined: Idealism, Realism, and Activism. Idealism means one should be idealistic in line with human abilities, meaning we should not pursue impossible dreams like trying to teach a fish to fly or a bird to swim. Realism, like Rumi's compass metaphor, means one foot should be on reality and the other on dreams. Activism means we must turn what we do into action. We are not a convergent culture; our ancestors advanced from Central Asia to the Adriatic on horseback, with a culture of command and order. The multitude of command-and-order expressions in Turkish also demonstrates this. Laziness does not suit us in such a culture.”
“What is truly important is knowing how to swim in a stormy sea”
Tarhan emphasized the importance of compassion and the sense of responsibility: “This is a risky time both for being very good and for being very bad. It is a very dangerous period. Learning to swim in a calm sea is easy; what is truly important is knowing how to swim in a stormy sea. Today, two emotions are most harmed: compassion and responsibility. Digitalization negatively affects these emotions, especially in young people. We also find this topic in a Hadith: ‘Near the Day of Judgment, Satan will trouble your children.’ It is asked, ‘O Messenger of Allah, how will we understand this?’ The answer is, ‘Near the Day of Judgment, you will understand this by two things: the lack of modesty and compassion.’ That is, in the End Times, Satan's influence on children will be understood by the lack of modesty and compassion. This is also the greatest harm digitalization inflicts on people: lack of empathy, that is, lack of compassion. To only think of one's own interests, not to consider the needs and feelings of others…” he concluded.
A plaque was presented to Prof. Dr. Tarhan
After the talk, a plaque was presented to Tarhan, who also answered questions from the participants, by Young MÜSİAD Vice President Furkan Meral, Board Member Esma Nur Kamar, and Education Commission Member Büşra Alkan.