From the Golem of Prague to artificial intelligence – The Jerusalem Post

When Professor Boaz Golany of the Technion gave a speech to visiting students from the Czech Technical University in Prague several years ago, he described the Golem of Prague as a metaphor for artificial intelligence (AI). The Golem is part of Jewish tradition and is well known to every Czech. The legend of the Golem and his 16th-century creator, Rabbi Loew Judah ben Bezalel, known as the Maharal, has been an integral part of popular culture in Czechia since the end of the 19th century. When people can share such complicated metaphors, it is no wonder there are currently a number of Czech-Israeli research projects using AI in different fields that assist communication between robots of different autonomous vehicles, find an optimal path for robots maneuvering with drones or improve robotic physiotherapy treatment.

Quite a few Czech intellectuals have been fascinated with the connection of the Golem to the development of science. This past September was the 100th anniversary of the publication of R.U.R., the dystopian play by the Czech author Karel apek that introduced the word robot into the English language and to the world of science. apek himself said that his robots were Golems in mass production.

Czech companies also bring high value to complicated construction projects. Dekonta, the leading Czech environmental services and technologies company, participated in a bioremediation project of contaminated soil at the Beersheva Railway Station. The JUTA company supplied high-density polyethylene (HDPE) geomembranes for the Habonim water reservoir project in the Carmel coastal area near Haifa.

Many more opportunities are on the way. The Czech ICT company Tesco SW is developing brain diagnostic software for Parkinsons disease that can be used in Israel. Last year the DLD Tel Aviv Innovation Festival brought together innovators, who announced the creation of the Czech-Israeli platform of FinTech companies in early November. They also want to support bilateral tourism and business financing.

Perhaps the Czech-Israeli collaboration in the sciences can be best epitomized by Jakub Abramson, an immunology professor at Weizmann Institute in Rehovot. Professor Abramson was born in Prague and made Aliyah ten years ago. He is very enthusiastic about Czech-Israeli collaboration. It is important for me to strengthen Czech and Israeli collaboration. In the Czech Republic, there is great potential for science. They have amazing potential that they dont use and exploit properly. Professor Abramson has done many collaborations with Czech scientists, including a description of a new auto-immune disease that attacks the teeth and combining Israeli expertise in immunology with Czech know-how in medicinal chemistry. He is looking forward to spending the next academic year on sabbatical in Prague.

The cooperation in science has been growing, thanks to joint financial support from the Israeli Ministry of Science and Technology and the Czech Ministry of Education. Currently, there are six Czech-Israeli projects examining the use of nanotechnologies in cleaning air or water, the use of AI in computer vision, the development of assistive devices for physiotherapy, planning for robotic laparoscopic surgery, and conflict-free movement of self-driven vehicles. The successful research project should be followed by commercial success. Private and public support for accelerating innovations, creating joint start-ups, or removing barriers for innovative companies to offer their products in the partner country could bring the Czech-Israeli innovative cooperation to another level.

Czech-Israeli Innovation Days

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From the Golem of Prague to artificial intelligence - The Jerusalem Post