Hack the Hate: The power of AI technology at work against online hate

As the war of narratives online becomes more intense with each passing day, the "Hack the Hate - Israeli Tech Against Online Antisemitism" conference, created and organized by the 8200 Alumni Association and Generative AI for Good, could not have come at a better time.

The conference, which took place on September 10 in Tel Aviv, hosted not only the best and brightest minds working in the field of AI but also saw diplomats acting as foreign ambassadors, politicians, and major industry players all gathered together, facing the same realization - that this problem doesn't belong to the Jewish state alone, and that the fight starts here.

Leading companies and organizations, such as Microsoft, Bank Hapoalim, the Ministry of Diaspora Affairs and Combating Antisemitism, the World Zionist Organization, the UJA Federation of New York, Gesher Leadership Institute, and Group 9500, were among the conference partners.

Chen Shmilo, CEO of the 8200 Alumni Association, opened the conference with his firsthand accounts of the profound consequences of online antisemitism during a visit to New York. "It doesn't remain confined to cyberspace," he said, "it manifests in real-world actions against our people on campuses and in the streets." Shmilo described the truly worrying ease with which an opinion can be established online: "It takes only 15 seconds to make one person hater another," and added, "This fight is a modern version of David versus Goliath. Once again, [Israelis] have boldness, creativity, and a firm belief that we can knock down this evil."

In her opening remarks, CEO and founder of Generative AI for Good Shiran Mlamdovsky Somech stated: "Before October 7, antisemitism felt distant to me, but after experiencing the most brutal massacre since the Holocaust and witnessing a surge of global antisemitism at an unimaginable scale, it became clear that we are now facing a new reality."

Mlamdovsky Somech shared the realization regarding the nature of the hate she witnessed online and how it was anything but spontaneous: "These forces have a long-term strategy and vast resources …  enemies not just of the Jewish people, but of the free world as a whole… they're weaponizing the new player in the online battlefield, AI technology, making hate far more scalable and dangerous." "Here in Israel," she added, "we have a unique opportunity to become a global hub for combating hate through technology. Our secret weapon? We have no other place to go." 

The conference included two main panels. The first panel, moderated by Aviv Frenkel, Co-Founder and CEO of Moonshot AI, featured Rafi Mendelsohn, VP Marketing of Cyabra; Ella Keinan, Founder of Bright Mind and content creator; Shirona Partem, Co-Founder of Amplify; and Michael Matias, Co-Founder and CEO of Clarify. The panel's key focus was on the power generative AI, and other technologies hold when combating disinformation, deepfake, and hate speech, including antisemitism.

The second panel, moderated by Inbal Orpaz, Strategic Innovation Consultant and Researcher, shifted the focus from cybersecurity to EdTech and funding, exploring how educational technologies can combat hate and promote tolerance and what are the fundraising options for the new tech companies. The participants included Ally Golan, General Partner of 6Star Capital; Dr. Yael Richler Friedman, Pedagogical Director at The International Institute for Holocaust Education, Yad Vashem; Elad Har Zahav, Head of Business Development at Poalim Tech, and Or Gorodissky, VP of R&D at D-ID. Gorodissky discussed how his company uses generative AI to educate and raise awareness. One example he cited was a collaboration with MyHeritage and official organizations, where D-ID's technology was used to create AI-generated videos in multiple languages to broaden the reach of critical information.

Together, these panels demonstrated the immense potential of both cybersecurity and EdTech in addressing the growing threats of hate, antisemitism, and misinformation. Through proactive cybersecurity measures and impactful educational content, the tech industry and AI can play a significant role in fostering tolerance and safeguarding against harmful ideologies. 

Eran Yariv, Partner Group Engineering Manager at Microsoft AI, Israel, also gave his own fascinating insights regarding the use of deepfake and its dangers. Concluding with optimism, Yariv reassured the audience, promising that deepfake technology wasn’t wholly malevolent and that, with proper use, it could become part of the solution. The conference concluded with startup pitches focused on fighting online hate as Brinker and Civilian Intelligence Center.

The demand for "Hack the Hate" proved immense as guests poured into the conference venue. Among other participants were Yossi Vardi, a key leader in the Israeli tech industry; Shirel Dagan-Levy, CEO of Voice of the People (the president Initiative) Carol Nuriel, Senior Regional Director, Israel, the Middle East and North Africa; anti-defamation League Dorit Dor, the CTO of CheckPoint; Nir Lempert, Chairman at Mer Industries Ltd and 8200 Alumni Association, leading influencers as well as the ambassadors for Singapore, Austria, Cyprus, and Bulgaria.

"At some point,"  Mlamdovsky Somech shared, "Security had to send people home." "It seems that we touched an exposed nerve, there's a widespread understanding that we're facing global security threats, and people want to help. However, many are uncertain about how best to contribute" It’s a call for action, and this is just the first step, she concluded.