Beyond Transmitting Bits: Context, Semantics, and Task-Oriented Communications

Communication systems to date primarily aim at reliably communicating bit sequences. Such an approach provides efficient engineering designs that are agnostic the meanings of messages or goal message exchange aims achieve. Next generation systems, however, can be potentially enriched by folding semantics and goals communication into their design. Further, these made cognizant context in which takes place, thereby providing avenues for novel design insights. This tutorial summarizes efforts date, starting from its early adaptations, semantic-aware task-oriented communications, covering foundations, algorithms potential implementations. The focus is on approaches utilize information theory provide as well significant role learning task-aware communications.