In conjunction with its annual summit on May 6, CTIA issued a new report devoted to the ongoing merger of wireless technology and AI: Wireless & AI: Driving the Future of Innovation. The report points to the growing co-dependency between the data networks (wired and wireless) and artificial intelligence (AI), a technological advancement that promises to create great value. In doing so, the report discusses several main points that are likely to drive the future of both AI and broadband.
The first principle, which I discussed in an FSF Perspectives earlier this year, is that AI and networks are increasingly interdependent. As the CITA report mentions: “AI requires wireless networks to move data, help coordinate real-time decisions and operate effectively with the physical world. In turn, wireless networks rely on AI to manage the surging complexity and record traffic driven by AI’s own insatiable data demands.
AI without data networks is useless. AI needs the models to download vast amounts of data of all types (code, text, sound, and visual), transport them to any location, process the information, transmit the analysis, and increasingly, act on the results itself without human intervention, a phenomenon the report refers to as "Physical AI." AI will operate across three layers; devices, edge, and the cloud, depending on the speed, complexity, and cost of the task.
Second, the dependence is two-way. While AI is heavily dependent on communications networks to maximize its use of data, the rapid increase in AI’s use of networks demands that the networks use AI to maximize their capacity in the form of transmission capacity, latency, and compute power. Just as the global power of AI depends on networks’ capacity, that capacity must use AI to expand in order to meet these increased needs. 6G networks will respond dynamically to the conditions and demands facing them. Already some are predicting that by the end of the decade one-third of AI traffic needs could go unmet. Accenture estimates that this could reduce potential GDP by $1.4 trillion.
The third point is that the physical merger is already occurring. 6G networks will increasingly connect with a wide variety of machines and sensors. Unlike existing networks, AI will require massive amounts of data to be uploaded into communications networks for analysis. AI traffic is expected to power 75 percent of smartphones within two years. Already, AI traffic is growing three times faster than overall traffic and is expected to account for 30 percent of networks’ traffic by 2034. Finally, 6G networks are expected to increase energy efficiency by 30 percent.
These advancements impact economic growth and national security. AI and wireless are the two top sources of infrastructure investment in the current economy, offsetting some of the uncertainty caused by higher consumer prices and international conflict. The significant dual use capability of AI and network advancements creates significant security implications and places a premium on intelligent and timely regulation. The world’s complexity increasingly cannot be resolved by humans manually reacting to data flows that move faster than human reaction time.
The report focuses on two major areas for policy reform. The first is the allocation of large contiguous blocks of licensed spectrum. The value of spectrum has grown rapidly due both to new uses and the increased capacity of existing uses. As a result, the allocation of spectrum is attracting increased demands from government, industry, and consumer use. The sooner Congress and regulators can develop methods for allocating spectrum to its most valuable uses, the better. The report points to next year’s World Radiocommunication Conference as an important milestone for developing a Western response to international policy.
Finally, permitting reform will also play a large role in determining the pace of innovation. Companies frequently need government approval at the federal, state, or local level before they can start building out Internet infrastructure, whether in the form of home broadband, data centers, or transmission lines. At the state and local levels it is not uncommon for agency officials to demand high fees or costly extraneous requirements as a condition to start construction. While some progress has been made at the federal level, state and local entities still impose significant delays. Both the FCC and Congress need to continue to remove impediments and implement meaningful permitting reform.
The ongoing merger of the communications networks (including eventually 6G) and AI will have vast implications for society. Machines will gather more information, transmit it widely, analyze any correlations within it, and act on the results. This will dramatically expand the information available to humans. The challenge is to use it wisely and for the benefit of all. AI without reliable, secure, high-capacity communications networks is useless, but the networks without AI will collapse.
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