President Yitzhak Herzog met this morning (Monday) with Sam Altman, CEO of the "OpenAI" company, who is currently visiting Israel. The company is engaged in the development of artificial intelligence.

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"We are very excited that you are here. It is clear that Israel is a powerhouse in the technological sense, innovation and a leading force in the field of artificial intelligence, which is why your visit here arouses such great interest in the country. A country that wants to do good and serve the world with meaning," Herzog noted at the beginning of the conversation.

He also added: "I congratulate you on the open letter regarding the dangers of artificial intelligence that you issued with the people of the industry. Along with the great opportunities in technology, there are many threats to humanity, to the independence of humans. All humans were created by God and we need to make sure that this development was created for the benefit of humanity. To see the advantages and disadvantages and you are the first to point it out openly and bravely."

I'm on my way to a cardiology conference, and medicine will be dramatically improved by artificial intelligence, but questions of morality, fake news, and values will be in danger and I very much agree with you that it's like developing nuclear weapons, so there should be an international association to deal with the challenge," he noted.

"To make sure that technology will serve humanity" (Photo: Amos Ben Gershom

The president presented the importance of the issue in his eyes: "This field fascinates me on a personal and national level, and Israel wants to be part of the development of this field, and I really want to be personally involved in leading a discussion within Israel and at the international level on issues of morality and ethics and other aspects of this technology."

Altman himself said: "It is very special for me to visit Israel on a personal level. The technology and startup community in Israel is amazing. It is of course important to balance the advantages and disadvantages as you mentioned. I'm happy to do this tour around the world and meet with world leaders and discuss it."

"The thought, the focus, and the urgency of understanding that it is necessary to know how to navigate the great risks of technology in order to enjoy its benefits, is everyone's goal. I think there is a fruitful discussion on the ways to do this. The energy in the creation of the technology and the benefits it produces is amazing. I am sure that Israel will play an important role in this. The technology community here is amazing and I have been following for many years the construction of technology here for the betterment of humanity," he added.

"OpenAI" is an artificial intelligence (AI) research laboratory. The company has several products, the two most central and famous of which are: ChatGPT – an artificial intelligence tool that provides a conversational interface that allows the user to ask questions and receive answers in natural language and quickly and DALL-E – a tool that creates original images from textual descriptions.

Altman also met with Michal Braverman-Blumenstick, CEO of Microsoft Israel. During the meeting, which was also attended by a number of company employees, Braverman-Blomenstick said: "The meeting with Sam Altman was an extraordinary opportunity to talk about the massive artificial intelligence revolution that is sweeping the world. OpenAI's developments are pushing for the biggest human advance since the Internet revolution. I was impressed by Sam's commitment to promoting the responsible use of artificial intelligence for positive change in the world. The integration of these technologies in Microsoft products will place us at the forefront of the global technological front and I am proud to take part in this journey."