Israel’s national infrastructure will run on AI within a few years, official says

Israel’s national infrastructure will run on artificial intelligence within a few years, Brig. Gen. (res.) Erez Askal, head of the National AI Directorate in the Prime Minister’s Office, said on Monday at Tel Aviv University’s AI Week conference.

“We are on the threshold of a different sovereign reality,” Askal said. “Whoever controls AI will have the power to switch entire countries on or off.”

He called for Israel to build technological sovereignty, outlining targets that include 2 gigawatts of energy infrastructure, 100,000 graphics processing units, a sovereign foundation model and an Israeli quantum computer. He also emphasized workforce training.

Askal said Israel must develop fair, trustworthy and secure AI systems, with clear accountability for their operation and outcomes.

Israel also announced the launch of the National Institute for Impact-Oriented Artificial Intelligence within the National AI Directorate, aimed at applying AI to challenges in health care, education and other public services.

Challenges cited by Askal include fourth-grade mathematics education, congestion on Route 6 {the first Israeli Build-Operate-Transfer road, also known as the Trans-Israel Highway] and the initial encounter between doctors and patients. He said the approach would involve identifying the main obstacle in each case—regulation, data, technology or processes.

The institute plans to pursue 10 to 14 projects annually, with a goal of bringing five of its first 10 projects into implementation within a year. Its focus will be on producing measurable improvements in everyday life and transferring solutions to organizations that can operate them independently over time.