Source: Official information from the Israeli government, summarized by the AI HUB Project, March 2023
▲Outline of Israel’s AI Policy

Israel is an outstanding country in AI development and high-tech industries. According to the 2021 Government AI Readiness Index Report released by the Oxford Insights, Israel ranks 20th among 160 countries. In addition, Israel also ranked 5th in Tortoise’s Global AI Index. In addition, Israel is also known as the "Startup Nation." Despite having a population of only over 8 million, Israel ranks at the top in terms of number of start-up companies.

Israel held five parliamentary elections between 2018 and 2022, and many government plans failed to be implemented smoothly. As a result, the National AI Strategy was not formally implemented until 2022, even though its draft was proposed in 2019. The strategy uses the National AI Plan as its core, learns from the government’s past successful experience in investing in the field of cybersecurity, and strives to make Israel one of the world’s five leading countries in the next five years.

Israel’s AI industry development approach can be divided into three main aspects: Develop the infrastructure necessary for AI, create the optimal environment for AI infrastructure, and create a cross-domain sustainable ecosystem. It establishes AI as Israel’s critical infrastructure in the future and creates a complete AI ecosystem. Its specific actions include building computing facilities, human capital, data and research in related fields to establish the infrastructure required for the development of Israeli AI systems. Israel establishes the best development environment for industrial growth through the development of a network security and ethical supervision environment. Ultimately, it further creates a complete and sustainable ecosystem by connecting different sectors, such as implementing national development plans in health, transportation, security, and agriculture.

In terms of industrial development, Israel has extended the spirit of "Cyber Security is National Security" to the development of the AI industry, in order to strengthen AI-related infrastructure as the core strategy of the "National AI Strategy," and established AI as a critical infrastructure and national priority in the future. However, due to long-term geopolitical risks, unstable political situations, and the successful experience of creating a startup ecosystem in the past, the spirit of innovation is deeply rooted in Israeli culture, and has further affected Israel’s views on the development of the AI industry.