Dovi Frances, founding partner of the Group 11 investment fund, presented today (Monday) an optimistic vision for Israel's status as a global leader in the field of artificial intelligence at the Accountant General's Conference at the Ministry of Finance.
The Israeli-US investor emphasized Israel's unique potential, noting the need to approve the establishment of a division for accelerating artificial intelligence in Israel in the Prime Minister's Office, as well as the accompanying budget for the establishment of supercomputing and computational infrastructure in Israel.
Frances cited data that demonstrates Israel's potential. "We are 0.4% of the world, and we lead 20% of the world's innovation. We have 350 international development centers, 10% of our high-tech workforce contributes 18-20% to GDP." He added that between 15 and 25 percent of Fortune 500 CEOs are Jewish or Israeli, and that Israel has 46 unicorns - companies worth over a billion dollars - the highest rate in the world relative to the population.
Frances presented the Nagel Committee's recommendations for a national program for artificial intelligence that contains four foundations: establishing a national artificial intelligence division with a budget that will allow for decent salaries for professional staff, building an Israeli supercomputer with an investment of 24 billion shekels, opening government databases for the development of artificial intelligence, and revolutionizing the education system to train a new generation of artificial intelligence engineers and scientists. "If you believe in God, you believe in superhuman intelligence - superhuman intelligence is already embedded in us, in our DNA, and it will be here very soon."
Frances also noted that "the United Arab Emirates, where only 12% of the population was born in the country, has invested hundreds of billions of dollars in artificial intelligence in recent years. Saudi Arabia has a single-digit number of unicorns compared to 46 in Israel."
According to him, the proposed investment in Israel of 24 billion shekels is about 3% of the volume of investment in the Emirates in recent years. "It's like 2.5 F-35 squadrons - a relatively small investment that can yield huge results. It's time to buckle down, join forces and turn artificial intelligence in Israel into something that is sustainable. Israel can lead the global artificial intelligence revolution and become a global AI powerhouse," he concluded.