Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke by phone Monday evening with Elon Musk, founder of SpaceX, CEO of Tesla, owner of Twitter, and one of the co-founding board members of the companies Neuralink and OpenAI.
Prime Minister Netanyahu said after his conversation with Musk: "We are at the beginning of a new era for humanity, the era of artificial intelligence. Things are changing at a dizzying pace and Israel must formulate a national policy on this issue. Last night I had a long conversation with Elon Musk, a man whose intelligence and contribution to humanity I greatly appreciate.”
As you #WakeUpAmerica OpenAI CEO and ChatGPT developer Sam Altman just wrapped up a visit to Tel Aviv University.
— Daniel Cohen (@DanielCohenTV) June 6, 2023
I’ll tell you about his conversation with PM Benjamin Netanyahu🇮🇱…and the conversation Bibi had with Elon Musk about Israel’s future role in artificial intelligence. pic.twitter.com/1vfLlxcWA9
“Musk spoke at length about two things," Netanyahu said. "Firstly - about the need for governments to understand both the opportunities and the dangers of artificial intelligence. Secondly - he expressed his assessment that Israel can become a significant factor in this matter in the world. I'm sure this is true and we will accomplish it."
Netanyahu also spoke by phone earlier on Monday with Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI. The two discussed the opportunities and challenges facing the world and the State of Israel in relation to artificial intelligence. The two also discussed cooperation with the State of Israel to develop the field of artificial intelligence.
Thank you for recognizing concerns about safety of digital superintelligence, which affects all of humanity
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) June 5, 2023
"I also spoke with Sam Altman, who also expressed his assessment that Israel can be a major factor in the world in this field," said the Prime Minister. "I intend to convene think tanks in the coming days to discuss a national policy in artificial intelligence, both in the civilian and security fields. Just as we made Israel a national power in the field of cyber, we will do the same in the field of artificial intelligence."
After talks with Musk and Altman, #Netanyahu convenes team to set national #AI policy. PM says artificial intelligence heralds a new era for humanity; ‘things are changing at a dizzying pace and Israel must formulate a national policy on this issue’ [TOI] #Israel pic.twitter.com/zaRJZbgEOd
— Eli Dror (@edrormba) June 5, 2023
Netanyahu is not alone in his ambition to turn Israel into an AI powerhouse. The former Prime Minister, Naftali Bennett, who recently signaled that there is a possibility that he will return to the political arena, recently spoke extensively about how Israel must begin creating policy for Artificial Intelligence. Bennett wrote in a tweet published less than a month ago on Twitter that "there is no time to lose. The State of Israel must set a clear goal for itself: to become 2030 one of the three leading artificial intelligence powers in the world. while we are busy with countless political crises, internal fights, and boycotts, the world is racing forward with technology that is going to change reality as we know it."
