The GSMA has unveiled the first-ever industry-wide Responsible AI (RAI) Maturity Roadmap, aimed at equipping telecom operators with the tools and guidance needed to evaluate their ethical use of AI technology.
With McKinsey estimating the potential value of AI in the telecom sector to reach up to USD 680 billion over the next 15-20 years, the GSMA is spearheading a unified effort to promote ethical and responsible AI practices across the industry. This marks the first sector-wide commitment to a shared approach to AI.
The roadmap, created with insights from McKinsey, will enable telecom organizations to evaluate their current level of responsible AI maturity against their future goals and needs. It will offer clear guidance and measurement tools to help them advance their AI initiatives while maintaining industry-wide best practices in accordance with ethical AI use.
This initiative builds on the existing commitments of numerous mobile network operators (MNOs) to ensure that AI exploration and integration are conducted ethically and responsibly.
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Fundamental Dimensions, Guidance and Adoption
After extensive industry consultations, the GSMA has incorporated global regulations, recommendations, and standards from international organizations (such as the OECD and UNESCO’s Ethics of AI guidelines) into a comprehensive RAI Roadmap for the telecom sector.
A total of eighteen mobile network operators (MNOs) have already endorsed the roadmap, and are using it to track, sustain, and enhance their responsible AI practices. This commitment follows substantial industry input during the consultation and development phases.
The RAI Maturity Roadmap is based on five fundamental dimensions: the organization's vision, values, and strategic goals; its operating model and AI governance across operations; technical controls that comply with regulatory standards; collaboration with third-party ecosystems; and corporate change management and communication strategies.
The roadmap will reportedly provide guidance for each dimension, helping organizations adopt responsible AI practices in line with their maturity level. It also advocates for well-established best practices, such as fairness, human agency and oversight, privacy and security, safety and robustness, transparency, accountability, and environmental impact.
By offering clearer guidelines and a unified approach to responsible AI use, the GSMA’s roadmap will enable mobile network operators (MNOs) to confidently adopt AI technologies, knowing they are following ethical and agreed-upon practices. This will help them unlock the full potential of the technology more swiftly.
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The Need for Responsible AI
Mats Granryd, Director-General of the GSMA, said, “The transformative potential of AI has long been apparent but its integration in our work and our lives must be done in a responsible and transparent way for it to be truly effective and sustainable. This roadmap will now empower more MNOs to embrace AI [with] the knowledge they, in line with the whole sector, are doing so responsibly and ethically.
“Responsible AI is the right way to explore and unlock the many opportunities the technology presents, and the telecoms industry is proud to lead the way as the first sector to commit to this approach—we hope others will follow our example.”
Singtel is one of the operators involved in the groundbreaking development of the telco industry's first RAI Maturity Roadmap. William Woo, Singtel’s Group Chief Information Officer and Group Chief Digital Officer, said, "As a leading digital services provider, the Singtel Group is committed to empowering people and businesses and creating a more sustainable future for all. To ensure AI is developed and used ethically and responsibly, we have collaborated with GSMA to develop the Responsible AI Maturity roadmap which provides the industry with a clear framework for action. This roadmap also guides our own efforts to enhance our responsible AI practices, so enterprises and consumers can benefit from the value creation potential of this next-generation technology safely."
José María Álvarez-Pallete López, GSMA Board Chair and Chairman & CEO of Telefónica, remarked that the rapid integration of AI into technology and telecom operations highlights both its significant potential and the associated risks. He emphasized the necessity of embedding ethics in AI development to prevent uncontrolled growth. He commended the telecom industry for its leadership in implementing responsible AI guidelines through the GSMA's new roadmap.
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