Israel will invest in a quantum computing system for security issues

This is what Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said at a large conference of science and technology ministers, which took place on Monday and Tuesday of this week in Jerusalem. * "The government intends to establish a system that will handle the field of quantum computing, of a similar magnitude to investment in cyber", "Science is the well from which buckets of technology are drawn"

The government will soon announce a technological-scientific program, which will include a team of experts who will "advance Israel in fields that have a critical contribution to security," said Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. One of the areas that the committee will deal with will be quantum computing. Netanyahu noted that a system will be established on the subject, "with an investment of a similar magnitude to that dedicated to cyber."

The Prime Minister said these things at an international conference for science ministers and senior officials, which opened yesterday (Monday) in Jerusalem. The conference is attended by representatives from more than 25 countries in the world, as well as scientists and heads of international scientific organizations such as the CERN particle accelerator. Among the participating countries: India, Argentina, Poland, Thailand, Bulgaria, Uganda, Singapore and the Czech Republic.

"I remind you that only a few years ago I announced that we would turn Israel into a cyber power. Some asked what cyber is, some did not believe that we would become a power. Today, everyone understands the importance of the field," Netanyahu said. He noted that "the promotion of Israel as a global factor in quantum computing is an equally great challenge and the meaning of this for Israel is equally profound. I believe this is an achievable goal."

"Science is the well from which buckets of technology are found"
Netanyahu added that "Science and technology are both important, but they are not the same." Science is the well from which buckets of technology are drawn. Israel is a technological powerhouse - this is what I also hear from leaders. But Israel has no choice. With a small area and limited resources, we must invest in the technology essential to our security, including information technologies. And indeed, the government devotes a huge investment to information technology in the startup environment, and the free market allows graduates of technology units in the military and university graduates in the field to open their own companies and create a huge knowledge industry."

As an example he brought agrotech - technology in the field of agriculture. "We have vast experience in agriculture and we have connected it to technology. Drones can tell us at the level of the specific plant, if it needs to be watered or sprayed against pests. It's called precision agriculture," he added.

Netanyahu also mentioned the large automobile and technology industry that has developed in Israel, mentioning Mobileye, which was purchased by Intel, and Waze, which was purchased by Google.
Israel really has no choice. We are a small country with few natural resources and with many threats to our security. We had to invest in military technology, in information technology as far as military intelligence is concerned. This is a huge investment. We thought that what needed to be done was to match this large government investment in information technology with the markets and culture of start-up companies—a free market environment that allows IDF veterans and other entities in Israel to establish their own companies and create the information industries of the future.

These technologies are now being developed everywhere. We had traditional farming methods with which we made the wilderness bloom. But we have now connected agriculture, for example, with the information industries, so that drones, combined with artificial intelligence combined with databases combined with drip irrigation and fertilization, can now send water and nutrition directly to the individual plant. This is called precision agriculture. This is the marriage between information technology and agriculture.

These processes are now taking place in every field. Before long, there will no longer be a difference between high-tech and traditional technology. It will take time, but almost every field will be integrated with technology.

The countries that will lead the future are those countries that innovate. The future belongs to those who innovate. Israel is a country of innovation. It is even said that it is the nation of innovation, and we grasp the future. We want to capture it together with you. We think there is an inexhaustible source of opportunity. These opportunities come from the launch pad between artificial intelligence, big data, and connectivity, where entirely new industries are being created.

The first industry to emerge as a result is cyber defense. About 20 percent of the global private investment in cyber defense is invested in Israel. We have made a conscious decision to limit government control and intervention in this area even though it has profound implications in the field of security. This restriction is intended to allow hundreds of startup companies in the field of cyber defense to develop, to create partnerships with other companies and with other governments. Because we understood the great potential that lies in cyber protection in our world today, in the Internet of Things, and we understand that there is a huge market here. This is the first example.

The second example is the automobile industry. Until recently there was no automobile industry in Israel. We tried and failed. We failed because we couldn't compete on scale in chassis and engine assembly and tire manufacturing. We tried and failed. I remember this because many years ago when I was a young officer, I was given a car made in Israel that was made of fiberglass. I leaned on her, and my hand just went inside. The industry did not last long.

Do any of you remember this car? Susita?

Today we have an automobile industry. We have a car industry because very soon 85% of the value of the car will be software. Cars will actually be cars on wheels, and probably even a convertible computer on wheels. And in this area we have speech.

A company located not far from here, in Jerusalem, "Mobilay", was recently sold to "Intel" for 15 billion dollars. In my opinion, its value is much higher, but it is still much more than the other Israeli company, "waze", which was sold to "Google" for a poor one billion.

Israel now has a car industry thanks to big data, artificial intelligence and connectivity.

The third field, with tremendous opportunities for the future, is digital medicine. We have a computerized database that contains the medical files of nearly 98% of the population. For the past 20 years, the medical file of all Israel has been available. You can see him in every hospital in Israel. From this database we take a sample of 100,000 people and from that a smaller subset of 2,000 and track their physiology. So we'll have the general population, a genetic sample of a subset of 100,000, and a physiological sample of a subset of 2,000. The plan is to run algorithms on this database to try to find miracle cures in personalized preventive medicine and there are many other things we will do.

There are many challenges here. I think it's very exciting. There are legal matters, privacy and other problems here, but I think these are three examples of three completely new industries that will change our world and certainly change Israel's economy.

I talked about the things we can do in agriculture in Israel, but it actually affects the whole world. In India, I was thrilled when Indian farmers told me that they had tripled, quadrupled, and even quintupled their income. Or in Africa, where an African mother has access to water technologies that save her from having to walk four hours there and four hours back every day to fetch water for her children.

There are many examples in many fields. Technology is changing Israel. Technology is changing the world. But technology is only the first half of science and technology. She is the application, she is not the source. We must also develop the spring.

I announced now in Hebrew that we will do this, that we will deal with basic scientific fields: data science, quantum computing, quantum mathematics and other fields, which I think are essential for Israel's future, for Israel's security.

Ultimately, our society will be tested on the combination of science and technology. And that's why I think this evening is so important. Israel wants to be your partner in both science and technology. We think we couldn't have asked for better partners and we think you couldn't have come to a better place.'