Operationalizing AI in Future Networks: A Bird's Eye View from the System Perspective

Modern Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies, led by Machine Learning (ML), have gained unprecedented momentum over the past decade. Following this wave of ``AI summer", the network research community has also embraced AI/ML algorithms to address many problems related to network operations and management. However, compared to their counterparts in other domains, most ML-based solutions have yet to receive large-scale deployment due to insufficient maturity for production settings. This paper concentrates on the practical issues of developing and operating ML-based solutions in real networks. Specifically, we enumerate the key factors hindering the integration of AI/ML in real networks and review existing solutions to uncover the missing considerations. We also highlight two potential directions, i.e., MLOps and Causal ML, that can close the gap. We believe this paper spotlights the system-related considerations on implementing \& maintaining ML-based solutions and invigorate their full adoption in future networks.