Disaster and automation: from COVID-19 to October 7

The concept of resilience evolved to become a goal of public policy in an attempt to prepare for impending disasters, whether “natural” or human-made. This paper explores the technological facets of resilience practices in Israel, concentrating on their technological aspects, and thus provides a new perspective on the existing research. It identifies and analyzes two systems developed by military bodies in the last decade. One is a digital command and control system, and the other is a data pool. Both integrate data from various sources, and both were deployed during two major crises – the COVID-19 pandemic and the October 7 war. The paper identifies these systems as enablers of transformations that go beyond their technological characteristics, addressing them as socio-technical ensembles. It aims to uncover how digital technologies reflect and reshape relationships between governmental, military, commercial, and civic entities while blurring the boundaries between emergency and routine states, as well as between the military and the civic. These relationships are dynamic: while the civil crisis of COVID-19 increased the military’s influence on civilian systems, civilian bottom-up initiatives were pivotal during the October 7 war. The potential implementation of AI in resilience systems should take into account ethical issues already identified.