AI National Program

Our primary objective is to navigate and harness the transformative potential of emerging technologies. We strive to facilitate experimentation, innovation, and collaboration within controlled environments known as sandboxes. By providing a space for testing and refining groundbreaking AI solutions, we aim to anticipate and manage technological disruptions while maximizing the positive impacts on various sectors of society. Navigating the inherent tension between the swift pace of innovation and the lengthy process to develop regulation, stands at the basis of Israel’s Responsible Innovation paradigm. Using experimental "sandboxes" early in the lifecycle of technological development allows for mutual maturation of technology and regulatory policy — technology evolves, and regulators learn how to engage with it effectively. Israel's approach to AI experimentation includes structured funnel and process for identifying the needed sandboxes and establishing a comprehensive experimentation program: • Identifying potential use cases - Focusing on the intersection of potentially disruptive technological developments, with mature and regulated markets • Vetting & filtering - Evaluating the opportunity based on factors such as the anticipated market value, the presence of an emerging private sector hub, the regulatory environment, and potential obstacles. • Creating a multi-stakeholder consortium – A collaborative framework comprising oversight authorities, business entities, subject matter specialists, and a specialized team for program administration • Elaborating an tailored experimentation program - The program is based on a gradually increasing level of complexity that will facilitate simultaneous technological and regulatory maturity • Implementing Alternative Regulatory Safeguards - In experimental contexts, safeguards could include measures such as time and location constraints, additional human supervision, and limits on the number of end-users.

Israel is apprised for its rich, highly skilled talent pool. Our focus is on nurturing a skilled workforce, continuously increasing the number of AI experts, as well as ensuring widespread AI know-how throughout the tech industry. We aim to cultivate talent through educational programs, reskilling and upskilling training initiatives, and collaboration with industry partners to meet the growing demand for AI professionals and ensure our nation remains at the forefront of innovation in this critical field. A robust talent pipeline is critical for AI research and development across academia and industry. Increasing the number of students enrolled for advanced academic degrees in the field is the cornerstone for ensuring the local talent pool can support the growing demand for AI expertise, driven by increasing integration across various industries and scientific fields. Israel's National AI Program prioritizes education and skill development, focusing on the cultivation, enhancement, and diversification of AI talent to bridge this gap and spur innovation.

The AI value chain starts with pioneering intellectual property and leading research. Accordingly, Israel's National AI Program allocates dedicated funding for high-risk, high-reward research initiatives within academic institutes and the private sector, fuelling innovation from the ground up. We focus on fostering innovation and advancement in both basic and applied artificial intelligence research. Our efforts are directed at supporting groundbreaking research initiatives, facilitating collaboration among researchers, and  promoting the exploration of cutting-edge AI technologies to address complicated significant challenges and unlock new possibilities for the future.

Localized Natural Language Processing (NLP) Advancements in Natural Language Processing (NLP) have transformed human-machine interaction, paving the way for a surge of inventive products and services. Thus far, the complexity of developing contemporary language models, and its attendant costs, have confined such innovations to only a handful of widely-spoken languages. Israel's national AI program set a goal for elevating Hebrew and Arabic NLP , mirroring the proficiency of English language models. Through strategic investments in specialized datasets, models, and tools, and by making those resources openly accessible to the research and development community, the program aims to empower the local innovation ecosystem via these advanced capabilities. Our emphasis is on developing NLP technologies tailored to Hebrew and Arabic. We are focused on advancing research, fostering collaborations, and deploying solutions that cater to the linguistic nuances and cultural contexts of the local communities in Israel, ensuring broader accessibility and effectiveness of NLP applications locally.

Israel’s AI Policy is premised upon the concept of "Responsible Innovation", which captures the need to support innovation while simultaneously fostering accountability and ethically-aligned design and uses of AI. While private sector innovation and ethics (or regulation) are often perceived as conflicting with one another, Responsible Innovation views these two goals as synergistic and mutually complementary. We prioritize the critical aspects of ethical development and responsible governance of artificial intelligence, working hand in hand with democracies around the world to ensure trustworthy AI use within the public or private sector that is consistent with human rights, democratic principles and the rule of law. Our focus is on fostering dialogue, establishing frameworks, and implementing regulations that uphold ethical standards, ensure transparency, and safeguard against potential risks associated with AI deployment. We are committed to promoting trust, accountability, and the ethical use of AI technologies to benefit society as a whole. The first ever Israeli policy on AI regulation and ethics was published on December 2023. The AI Policy identifies seven main challenges arising from the use of artificial intelligence in the private sector (discrimination, human oversight, explainability, disclosure of AI interactions, safety, accountability and privacy). To address these challenges, and consistent with the approach taken by the OECD AI Recommendations, the AI Policy sets forth common policy principles and a number of practical recommendations. The main recommendation are: • Adopting Sectoral Regulation - • Promoting International Interoperability of Frameworks • Adopting a Risk-Based Approach • Supporting Incremental Development & Regulatory Experimentation • Fostering Multistakeholder Consultation

Data is the cornerstone of AI advancement, driving research and innovation. However, access to comprehensive and quality-assured data remains a significant challenge. Israel addresses this issue by cultivating specialized data repositories, utilizing its unique data assets, and enhancing data accessibility through the promotion of privacy-centric AI technologies and secure data-sharing platforms. We prioritize initiatives for comprehensive data collection, as well as data sharing platforms, and implement strategies aimed at democratizing access to top-tier datasets across diverse sectors and stakeholders. Responsible use of Public Sector data is a key priority as it can unlock the AI potential in research and tap into the vast societal benefits of AI technologies. Among others, public sector data can be used for bridging equality divides, improving health, education, mobility, and employment, as well as enhance environmental sustainability.

Recent years have witnessed a surge in the computational power needed to train cutting-edge AI models. Concurrently, the worldwide availability of specialized GPU hardware has been constrained. This has elevated the barriers to innovation, impacting the creative potential of startups and academic researchers. Israel's program is designed to secure access to advanced, scalable computing resources for AI development and scientific computations. We focus on initiatives geared towards optimizing computational resources. We strive to enhance infrastructure capabilities, facilitate scalable computing solutions, and promote education and know-how in using modern HPC distributed environments. A second pillar of the Israeli compute infrastructure pillar is to promote promotes groundbreaking research in computational methods and novel hardware solutions. This is done through the establishment of an AI High-Performance Technologies Lab, where early-stage developments can be tested, bench-marked and evaluated. The lab fosters collaboration between startup companies, academic experts, and the large corporates. It aims to challenge existing hardware and software solutions, communication technologies, model training techniques, data management, and monitoring solutions.

We are committed to spearheading initiatives that integrate artificial intelligence technologies into public sector operations. Our focus lies in enhancing efficiency, transparency, and service delivery through the strategic deployment of AI solutions across various public sector domains. Public sector use of AI is promoted through dedicated funding, technological assistance to the relevant government units, and guidance in the fields of trustworthy AI and risk management. Our 3 main goals are to – • Improve Public Sector Services - Leveraging AI to make public sector services more easily accessible, quicker, and personalized. Increasing government responsiveness and improving delivery of services to its citizens while reducing bureaucracy and administrative burdens. • Improve Decision Making Processes Based on Data - Trustworthy use of AI within the context of public-sector decision-making processes, can address existing human biases, uncover blind spots and assist decision makers in resolving complex cases based on data and evidence. • Increase Public Sector Efficiency - By automating repetitive routine tasks, AI can assist public sector employees to focus on those tasks that require human judgement or creativity – developing strategy, formulating goals, and resolving particularly complex cases.