Netanyahu government launches AI plan amid doubts over budget, infrastructure- analysis
Last Wednesday, the National AI Directorate shifted into high gear and presented details of the plan at a special press conference conducted by Askal in its new offices in a flashy Ramat Gan building
In recent weeks, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government has launched a plan focused on artificial intelligence. This initiative, spearheaded by the newly established National Artificial Intelligence Directorate, has been promoted as a means to put Israel at the forefront of global technology. However, a closer examination of the plan reveals that it falls short of past promises.
The directorate, led by former IDF visual and geospatial intelligence Unit 9900 Brig. Gen. (res.) Erez Askal, has adopted a modest approach. The plan includes 30 hours of AI lessons for 8th and 9th graders annually, bringing back 100 scientists to Israel, the publication of a document for founding a "physical AI city," the exploration of robotics technologies, and the acquisition of up to 100,000 Nvidia processors. A special institute will also be founded, headed by Orit Korman Negri, former IDF planning department head.
Despite the glittering appointments and polished packaging, the plan lacks a detailed budget, leaving major questions unanswered. For instance, the construction of a supercomputer and the creation of an original Israel language model remain unaddressed. Moreover, the plan does not offer a solution to the issue of server farms being temporarily halted from connecting to the electrical grid, which has stalled the planning and construction of numerous prospective server farms.
This fourth AI plan from Netanyahu's government since 2018 has yet to produce tangible results. In 2018, Netanyahu initially asked Maj. Gen. (res.) Prof. Isaac Ben-Israel and Eviatar Matania to develop a plan. However, their proposal was shelved due to political upheavals. The Israel Innovation Authority, in partnership with the National Research and Development Infrastructure Forum, later brought in Orna Berry to formulate another plan.
Written by urgent.news from Jerusalem Post Tech & Start-Ups's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
