5G Wireless Network Could Revolutionize AI.

• Author: Tadjdeh, Yasmin
• Position: Algorithmic Warfare

Wireless network carriers have been spreading the news far and wide: 5G is coming. And when the next generation of cellular mobile communications arrives, they promise, so will more bandwidth to pipe in data to devices at lightning-fast speeds.

While 5G--which is slated to be introduced in 2020--is creating buzz in the commercial sector, it will also have defense applications, particularly as it relates to the development of cutting-edge artificial intelligence systems that have to crunch through vast amounts of data.

Five-G, when combined with the multitude of sensors that make up the internet of things, will give users the ability "to collect real-time data that allows AI to do real-time analytics," said Mei Zhou, a business development executive with Dell EMC. Users will be able to not just employ historical information to make decisions, but to combine it with real-time data for a more holistic view, she said.

Dell EMC is working closely with network equipment manufacturers and carriers to help prepare for 5G, she noted during a panel discussion at the National Training and Simulation Association's annual Interservice/Industry Training, Simulation and Education Conference in Orlando, Florida. The panel was organized by Women In Defense's Central Florida chapter.

While there are challenges, establishing 5G connectivity is key to moving forward, she added.

"It's a really critical piece that is building the underlying... communication infrastructure where AI will be layered on top," she said. "Without this networking infrastructure, you're not going to be able to move the... [data from] the edge into the different networking infrastructures to be able to make predictions and make analytics."

That kind of capability is not only a "must have" for the military, but for the commercial sector, she added.

Yasir Saleem, a senior consultant at Adobe, said getting to those real-time decisions is key. A next-generation communication network would allow AI systems to "look at real-time events that are happening, the decisions that are being made, what's coming up, what's happened in the past and really put all that data together."

Verizon Wireless has said that in its 5G trials, it achieved download speeds that were 30 to 50 times faster than with 4G. Additionally, latency could drop from the current 15 to 60 milliseconds to just 1 millisecond or less with 5G, making lag times nearly impossible to detect.

Lindsey R. Sheppard, an associate fellow at...