Beginning with AI means you need a proper data culture to start with. AI is not magic, despite what many may still think. Before even thinking of AI, the data needs to be in order. You need documentation, policies, and most importantly a proper data culture. This is the first in a series of interviews with practitioners in the field about generating business value with AI.

"ML techniques, so far, are more or less related to prediction, classification and decision-making in the networking area," says Qiang Cheng of the Artificial Intelligence Industry Association of the China Academy of ICT. Cheng was highlighting the current state of play in Machine Learning's contribution to ICT networking at an ITU workshop in Geneva, 29 January 2018. The workshop brought together experts in machine learning and ICT networking to discuss the challenges and opportunities on the agenda of the new ITU Focus Group on Machine Learning for 5G, which met for the first time from 30 January to 2 February 2018. Looking to the future, Huawei, KT, ZTE and Deutsche Telekom see great potential for Machine Learning to assist the design, operation and optimization of 5G networks. Machine Learning is expected to assist the ICT industry in meeting the challenges brought on by 5G and IoT, shifts representative of considerable increases in network complexity and the diversity of device requirements.