Israeli Ministries to Use A.I. to Boost Customer Services

Israeli government ministries will begin employing artificial intelligence to improve customer service and boost the economy, the Ministry of Innovation, Science and Technology announced on Tuesday.

The work plan launched by the ministry and the National Digital Agency aspires to support and advance small and medium-sized government projects that are based on AI as well as those still in the planning stage, the ministry said.

“The government is advancing AI initiatives which will allow significant advances in customer service,” Minister of Innovation, Science and Technology Ofir Akunis said. “The potential for the influence of AI on the economy and on society is enormous.”

A tender published by the ministry for AI project proposals comes on the heels of a Cabinet decision to implement state-of-the-art computer-run technology in government ministries.

AI government project proposals may be submitted to the ministry by Nov. 15.

The Yad Vashem Holocaust Remembrance Center in Jerusalem has already begun using AI in its vast archives.

In June, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke by telephone with tech entrepreneurs Elon Musk and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman.

“We are at the dawn of a new era for humanity, an era of artificial intelligence. Things are changing at a dizzying pace and Israel must formulate a national policy on this issue,” Netanyahu said at the time.

“I intend to convene policy teams to discuss a national artificial intelligence policy in both the civilian and the security spheres. Just as we turned Israel into a global cyber power, we will also do so in artificial intelligence,” the premier said.