Cairo: Hani Kamal El-Din
On November 20th, John Hoffman, the CEO of GSMA, stated that artificial intelligence (AI) will contribute up to $680 billion in revenue to the telecommunications industry alone over the next 15 to 20 years. He made this announcement during the opening of the Wuzhen Summit as part of the World Internet Conference (WIC), held in the town of Wuzhen in Zhejiang province, eastern China.
According to statistics, Hoffman pointed out that 81% of telecom operators worldwide are already testing AI-based solutions. “Chinese operators are among the leaders in this area, thanks to significant investments, strong government support, and a rapidly developing technological landscape,” he said, according to Xinhua News Agency.
Hoffman’s forecast predicts that within the next five years, over 150 million people globally will be able to improve their lives with AI-driven solutions, powered by big mobile data technologies.
Meanwhile, the UN’s Deputy Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs, Li Junhua, emphasized in his speech that artificial intelligence is “changing people’s lives at an unimaginable speed.” He highlighted that to fully harness the incredible potential of AI, the principle of “people first” must be adhered to. Actively promoting dialogue and cooperation while fully understanding global needs and perspectives is essential, he added.