Israel needs national vision for AI or risk falling behind, tech authority warns
Israel Innovation Authority urges government, academia, industry to join forces for advances in artificial intelligence as global race is underway
Illustrative image of a robot; artificial intelligence (PhonlamaiPhoto; iStock by Getty Images)
The Israel Innovation Authority, the body in charge of setting out the nation’s tech policies, has warned that the so-called Startup Nation is “falling behind in the race for AI-based technological dominance” and, without the allocation of appropriate resources and tools, risks losing out to other nations.
“The race for leadership in artificial-intelligence-based technology has begun,” said Aharon Aharon, the CEO of the Israel Innovation Authority, in a phone interview with The Times of Israel, as the authority released its 2018-19 annual report. “AI will be with us for very many years, and without a massive national program for Israel we’ll trail the rest of the world.”
Israel “must close the gap” with the countries that are making enormous investments in artificial intelligence infrastructures, he added.
The authority is calling for “the consolidation of all sectors — government, academia, and industry — to establish a vision and a strategy on AI for the Israeli economy.”
Artificial intelligence — the field that gives computers the ability to learn — has been around since the 1950s. It is now enjoying a renaissance made possible by the higher computational power of chips. The field is expected to grow at a compounded annual rate of almost 37 percent from 2018, and is expected to be a $191 billion market by 2025, according to MarketsandMarkets, a research firm.
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>https://www.timesofisrael.com/israel-needs-national-vision-for-ai-or-risk-falling-behind-tech-authority-warns/
like it or not, AI will be the future