Dr. Bela Barda Bareket: The next government will decide – consumer of AI or its infrastructure

Dr. Bela Barda Bareket argues that the next Israeli government must decide whether the country will be a consumer of computing power or a producer and exporter of it, leveraging advantages such as the chip industry, natural gas, and regional cooperation with Gulf states.

Dr. Bela Barda Bareket argues that the next Israeli government must decide whether the country will be a consumer of computing power or a producer and exporter of it. The article describes a global trend where Wall Street treats computing power as an infrastructure asset, similar to aircraft, real estate, and power plants. Amazon, Nvidia, BlackRock, Apollo, Blackstone, Brookfield, Goldman Sachs, and KKR are establishing platforms to raise hundreds of billions of dollars for AI infrastructure. Morgan Stanley estimates that by 2028, about $1.5 trillion will be needed to finance such infrastructure. In Israel, according to her, the discussion focuses on purchasing GPUs, but the real question is whether Israel can become a producer. Israel has a chip industry, AI companies, human capital, a financial system, and natural gas reserves. She proposes defining computing power as national infrastructure, linking AI policy to energy, electricity, land, water, and private capital, and building regional cooperation with Gulf states that would bring capital and energy while Israel provides technology and cybersecurity.