At the edge: 5G and AI convergence potential

“From ultra-low latency services enhancing augmented reality and virtual reality experiences to enabling smart cities, the convergence of 5G and AI will open doors to unprecedented possibilities,” he said, ahead of speaking at a session on the topic (Wednesday 11am, Hall 6 Stage A).

The company claims demand for edge computing capabilities will surge as it moves closer to the application, making autonomous cars and automated manufacturing more feasible.

“We expect that compute-intensive applications like generative AI will benefit immensely. Imagining having a real time LLM (large language model) at your fingertips, literally. The true magic here will happen as the technology and capability matures, moving beyond experiments at the edge to production-scale deployments.”

Goonetilleke asserted the convergence of 5G and AI at the edge will provide significant transformation potential for telecoms, healthcare, manufacturing, transportation and smart cities.

“Think AI-assisted retail experiences where recommendations are made in real time, in the store, based on your specific requirements; or logistics recommendations in manufacturing and warehouse settings.”

“We’ve certainly seen smaller-scale deployments in many of these domains, but the technology evolution will mean widespread adoption and enterprise growth for the telecom industry, in particular.”

To take advantage of this technology convergence, Goonetilleke calls for telecoms operators to invest in infrastructure, robust ecosystems and adopt evolving business models. “This will present challenges in terms of infrastructure costs, regulatory considerations and interoperability issues. But a commitment to building innovative new solution capabilities at the edge, particularly for enterprises, will be key.”

Further to these concerns, the Amdocs exec warns that safeguarding sensitive data and ensuring the integrity and trustworthiness of AI algorithms are critical.