When you buy through affiliate links in our content, we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. Learn 
Fifth generation wireless (5G) and artificial intelligence (AI) are probably bound to generate a mutually beneficial relationship that could skyrocket both these technologies to a new level. 5G is, in fact a tremendously complex technology, characterized by an inherently chaotic structure.
How to efficiently distribute cell sites or fully leverage the benefits of massive MIMO sites are just some of the challenges faced by operators. Maintenance and site planning operations are significantly more complicated and AI may represent the perfect answer.
AI algorithms that can analyze cross-domain and multidimensional data, allowing for precise 5G network planning, smart MIMO, and dynamic optimization of cloud network resources and coverage. AI can bring the order needed by the chaos of 5G networks, making them work more smoothly and efficiently.
And that’s probably the reason why more than 50% of operators expect to adopt AI in their 5G networks by 2020. (Read All Your Questions About 5G – Answered.)
AI, on the other hand, must be fed with massive amount of data to work properly. Right now, our current infrastructure is failing to provide the machines with the information needed to grow them to their full potential. The 5G technology is a huge step forward. It works with virtually no processing delays and can reach an operational speed that is nearly 100 times quicker than fourth generation wireless (4G.)
It is a technology that will connect every device we can possibly imagine, from smartphones to home appliances, autonomous vehicles, and sensors. (Read 7 Autonomous Vehicle Myths Debunked.)
Experts claim it will consume a fraction of the batteries drained by 4G, reducing energy waste by a substantial amount. This speed and efficiency is the foundation of the new smart megacities, meaning that not only data will be much more abundant, but it will also be more diversified since it will be drawn from a lot of additional sources.
All the data generated by 5G can finally represent the “food” that our AI toddlers need to become fully-grown adults.
However, this relationship is not devoid of risks. Many think that the sheer amount of data that 5G may provide to AI could be obtained with no respect for privacy. What already happened in the past when massive amounts of personal data was maliciously extracted from social media by unscrupulous organizations, may occur again at a much larger scale with the 5G/AI coupling.
New laws to avoid this from happening are an absolute necessity, but they must be established and enforced before this technology goes live.
As the former CIA Analyst and Obama Cyber Security Advisor Dr. Eric Cole explained in his speech about online privacy: “U.S. lawmakers seem more concerned about arguing and fighting than doing anything to help protect U.S. citizens,” but the problem seems to affect the entire planet rather than just North America.
