A.I. Superpower in the Making

Eight years after the launching of the cybernetic project that established the State of Israel as a global cyber superpower, a new national plan is currently under development. Its objective is to position Israel within the world's top five artificial intelligence leaders. The path to achieving this goal, at least for now, looks promising

A.I. Superpower in the Making

Israel currently ranks 3rd strongest AI ecosystem in the world. Image from the Cybertech startup pavilion (Credit: Gilad Kavalerchik)

Imagine a highly banal situation: a busy junction in a major city, vehicles of every color and description, some moving and others waiting for the lights to change. Dozens of pedestrians, dogs, birds on the trees.

This situation may be boring to death, but fast, powerful computers can view it differently. Once they are "taught" to pick up and distinguish between the most minute details within the larger picture (machine learning, in the professional jargon), they will be able to identify different car models of various colors and issue warnings of irregular events that are about to happen. For example, a man wearing a heavy overcoat when everyone else is wearing short, light garments, or a person under whose clothes a long-bladed knife is protruding, could generate an alert moments before an attack.

It is important to understand that machine learning is only one element of the rapidly developing field known as artificial intelligence. The real accomplishment is to provide powerful, well-trained computers with the ability to analyze situations (one example from a different field of activity: data regarding diseases) with no programmer dictating in advance the implications and consequences of every situation.

The world has entered a new era in artificial intelligence owing to the ever-increasing power of computers, the storage of infinite amounts of data in cyberspace ("the cloud") and the ability to link together a countless number of computers and sensors through the Internet.

Is the future already here? Not really. Computing capabilities are about to make a quantum leap when quantum computers capable of astounding speeds have become more widespread.

Is the State of Israel poised at the forefront of artificial intelligence technology? Apparently, yes. Just as in the case of other technological fields (like space, cyberspace and optics, for example), national security reasons have led Israel to the forefront of technology. It is easy to guess why the Israeli defense establishment has already invested substantial resources (in cooperation with industry and academia) so as to provide our elite technological units with basic artificial intelligence capabilities.

Now, will Israel emerge as a major player and user of the various applications of artificial intelligence in everyday life? Experience has shown that the answer to this question, too, is positive, especially with regard to the field of cyber.

Let us go back to eight years ago: in 2010, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu appointed Maj. Gen. (res.) Prof. Isaac Ben-Israel of Tel-Aviv University as the head of a national cybernetic project. In the context of that project, Prof. Eviatar Matania (who, for many years, had led Project Talpiyot – the genius project of the Israeli defense establishment) established the national cyber layout, which answers directly to the Prime Minister.

The objective was to utilize Israel's relative advantages and position it within the top five leaders of the global cyber industry. Israel accomplished that objective, big time: according to various estimates, not less than 20% of the total global investment in cybersecurity currently pour into Israeli companies and startups. Israeli industry, in cooperation with academia and the defense establishment, are an inexhaustible source for new ideas and concepts in this field.

Back to artificial intelligence: a few weeks ago, the Prime Minister decided to dispatch Israel on another race. The leading figures are the same: Ben-Israel and Matania.

Here is what Ben-Israel has written to his WhatsApp group earlier this week: "A good starting point for the smart system project! We have recently started developing a national plan, for the government, intended to provide a new direction to the Israeli high-tech industry and to empower Israel's economy and national security, around the unifying concept of artificial intelligence. Some two hundred people have volunteered to participate in the preparation of the plan under the direction of Prof. Eviatar Matania and myself.

"Is the goal we set for ourselves – to position Israel within the world's top five artificial intelligence leaders – achievable? Apparently, the data, even today, provide us with a good foundation for accomplishing that goal.

"For example, a study published by a European institute (ASGARD) shows that in artificial intelligence startups, worldwide, we are already in third place with 11% of the global market, after the USA with 40% and China with 11%."

Ben-Israel did not go into detail in his written post, but apparently, the leaders of the ambitious new project have already established eight teams. For example, the team in charge of computing power headed by Dr. Orna Berry, a notable technology entrepreneur and formerly Chief Scientist with the Israeli Ministry of the Economy and VP of Dell EMC.

Prof. Dan Blumberg, VP of Ben-Gurion University, will lead the team in charge of consolidating a plan for research institutes. Prof. Yaffa Zilbershats, Chairman of the Planning & Budgeting Committee of the Israel Council for Higher Education (the committee is a full-fledged partner in the project) and Dr. Ami Appelbaum, Chief Scientist of the Israel Innovation Authority, will lead teams in their respective fields.

The National Security Council and the Directorate of Defense R&D at the Israel Ministry of Defense play key roles in the new journey. As with the cybernetic project, the timetable is tight. Within a few months, the various ideas should mature into action. The organizational framework is yet to be determined, but the Ministry of Finance – another inseparable element of the new project – will provide the initial funding required in order to start the train rolling.

Still, some modesty is in order: as important as it may be, Israel is just one player in the global race for the attainment of substantial artificial intelligence capabilities. The global train will roll on, with or without us.