Seoul, South Korea - SK Telecom (NYSE: SKM) and Deutsche Telekom (ETR: DTE) have signed a letter of intent (LOI) to develop a specialized large language model (LLM) for the telecommunications industry.
Why it matters:
The move could impact how telecom companies optimize their customer service and operational tasks worldwide.
The Key Points
- The first iteration of the LLM is expected to be released in the first quarter of 2024. It is expected to be multilingual, supporting German, English, and Korean languages. Future applications could include customer service, network monitoring, and field operations.
- This specialized LLM aims to outperform general LLMs in understanding the complexities of telecom services and customer needs. Such targeted utility would make the model suitable for AI-powered contact centers.
- The broader goal is to help global telecom companies, particularly those in Europe, Asia, and the Middle East, tailor generative AI services to their unique operational needs. This specialized AI model is expected to reduce the time and financial resources required to develop larger platforms.
What they say:
Claudia Nemat, board member for technology and innovation at Deutsche Telekom, noted that existing large language models could be adapted with specialized data to improve customer service effectiveness.
Ryu Young-sang, CEO of SK Telecom, highlighted the partnership's potential for global AI leadership and cross-industry applications.
What's next?
The utility of this AI model isn't limited to customer service.
It is also expected to apply to network monitoring and other field tasks, potentially contributing to medium to long-term cost efficiencies.
The initiative aligns with the growing demand for AI solutions in the telecom industry and aims to expand the global AI ecosystem.
The collaboration sets the stage for a focused approach to integrating specialized AI services in the telecom sector.
