Moderator: Mr. Yonatan Adiri
Dr. Liran Antebi, Prof. Uri Shani, Dr. Ido Batzelet, Brig. Gen. (ret.) Nadav Zafrir and Dr. Nadia Schadlow
The panel on Technology and National Security, moderated by Mr. Yonatan Adiri, discussed the importance of technology to national security. Dr. Liran Antebi discussed the growth in drones in the last decade, as drones have become extremely inexpensive and has spread to both civilian and security sectors. ISIS, for example, used drones to monitor Syrian military bases, while Hezbollah leads the field in drone attacks. Israel, however, has not been ready to deal with the use of drones and needs to be prepared. Prof. Uri Shani moved the conversation to climate change and the need of most countries, which rely on flood irrigation for agriculture, to shift to the more efficient drip irrigation, as developed and used in Israel. He noted that China, despite technological advances, still lags behind in the application of technology to agricultural production. Dr. Ido Batzelet focused on the use of nanotechnology for manipulating DNA and potentially curing cancers and viruses, with the possibility of feeding DNA sequences to DNA printers in order to create medicine and to respond to pandemics. Dr. Nadia Schadlow responded that government agencies have had a hard time adapting to technology, as technological literacy is imperative. Brig. Gen (ret.) Nadav Zafrir agreed that private and public should no longer be seen as separate, and that Israel has an advantage in being able to recruit young people into its tech units in the IDF, who then become the pillar of the “Start-up Nation.”