AI Trends in Telco: The Future is Now
As I sat down to write about the latest AI trends in the telco industry, I couldn’t help but think about how fast-paced the development around artificial intelligence is moving. It’s hard to predict where the industry will be three, six, or even 12 months from now. But one thing is certain - the future is now.
The Rise of the Master Model
Lilac Ilan, Nvidia’s Global Head of Business Development for Telco Operations, predicts that the conversation around AI will shift from developing many small expert AI models to developing a “master model” that can connect the smaller models. This master model will be the game-changer in the telco industry, allowing operators to orchestrate tasks and bring together different models to create a seamless experience.
The future of AI in telco
Multi-Modal Capabilities
The second trend Ilan predicts is that telcos will begin embracing the new multi-modal capabilities large language models (LLMs) offer to sift through their mountains of unstructured data. This means leveraging data via text to image, image to text, or video inputs for LLMs. Microsoft’s David Seda also predicts that telcos will lean into multi-modal capabilities, but rather than focusing on internal uses, they’ll look to enhance customer interactions using video and images.
The power of multi-modal capabilities
Digital Humans
Ilan’s third prediction centers around the creation of digital humans. These are customer service chatbots on steroids, hiding behind a creepy human avatar and featuring the power of an LLM behind the scenes. Deutsche Telekom has already jumped on this bandwagon, rolling out its very own digital human called Max.
The future of customer service
AI for Business
The last trend Ilan predicts is that telcos will shift from focusing on development of AI use cases that generate internal value to working on AI that can benefit their enterprise and small and medium business customers. However, if operators only start turning their attention to external use cases sometime in the next year, that could mean they will miss the boat and lose out to hyperscalers.
The future of AI in business
As I reflect on these trends, I’m reminded that the future of AI in telco is not just about developing new technologies, but about how we can use them to create a better experience for customers. The question is, are telcos ready to take the leap?
