# On End-to-End Intelligent Automation of 6G Networks
## 1 Introduction  
With the current deployment of 5G networks around the globe, the digital transformation of businesses and services is in full force [1]. This has been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, which further forced businesses and industries to transition into the digital world at a faster pace [2]. This is illustrated by the projected market size growth of 5G services. More specifically, the global 5G services market size was estimated to be close to 41.5 billion USD in 2020, and is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 46.2%, reaching nearly 665 billion USD by 2028 [3]. Additionally, the 5G market is mainly dominated by the IT and telecom industries (accounting for nearly 25% shares in 2020), with the enhanced mobile broadband applications being the most dominant (estimated at 41% of the market share) [3]. Moreover, the massive machine-type communications (mMTC) applications are expected to have the fastest growth between 2021 and 2028 [3]. This has opened the world to a new set of unique challenges and opportunities driven by the need for communication technologies and architectures that enable growth and sustainability while also promoting the digital transformation at hand. In this context, 6G promises to be the set of technologies and architectures that achieves this goal by offering the means to interact and control the digital and virtual worlds that are decoupled from their physical location. This represents the natural evolution from \"people-to-people\"-focused communication in 1G-4G technologies through the \"people-to-things\"-focused communication in 5G, to finally reach the \"things-to-things\"-focused communication in6G [4; 5]. In turn, this enables the further development of emerging (e.g., intelligent transportation systems (ITSs)) and new (e.g., holographic telepresence) use cases. Accordingly, it is estimated that the global market size for 6G will reach 1773 billion USD by the year 2035 after an anticipated launch date of 2030 [6]. This represents a significant growth in market size of nearly three folds in a space of only seven years (between 2028 and 2035). Moreover, 6G networks and architectures need to allow for the human experience to be expanded across the physical, biological, and digital worlds. This is due to the emergence of new devices equipped with more intuitive interfaces and new sensing technologies, particularly with the continuous deployment of Internet of Things (IoT) devices [7]. More specifically, these new IoT devices are key components in building smarter cities that aspire to be greener and more sustainable [8]. This is done by deploying these sensing devices for a multitude of applications and use cases, such as water and electricity distribution, healthcare, and transportation [8]. Additionally, these devices can play a pivotal role in automating and improving defense and public safety processes [9]. For example, firefighters can make use of IoT devices installed in buildings to detect fires in a faster and more efficient manner [9]. Similarly, sensors deployed on various platforms such as satellites, radars, and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) can provide situational awareness for military personnel [9]. Moreover, 6G networks are expected to support next-generation industrial operations environments (including Industry 4.0) while considering performance metrics such as positioning, sensing, ultra-reliability, energy efficiency, and extreme real-time [10]. This includes facilitating the predictive maintenance of machines in smart factories, as well as offering automated, customized, and personalized digital services in such environments [11; 12]. To this end, 6G will introduce a new set of enabling technologies on top of those currently developed/deployed for 5G networks (e.g., network function virtualization, network softwarization, etc.). This includes novel radio and access technologies such as mmWave and THz-wave communication [13].