Future wireless communication networks are expected to fulfill the unprecedented performance requirements to support our highly digitized and globally data-driven society. Various technological challenges must be overcome to achieve our goal. Among many potential technologies, reconfigurable intelligent surface (RIS) and artificial intelligence (AI) have attracted extensive attention, thereby leading to a proliferation of studies for utilizing them in wireless communication systems. The RIS-based wireless communication frameworks and AI-enabled technologies, two of the promising technologies for the sixth-generation networks, interact and promote with each other, striving to collaboratively create a controllable, intelligent, reconfigurable, and programmable wireless propagation environment. This paper explores the road to implementing the combination of RIS and AI, more specifically, integrating AI-enabled technologies into RIS-based frameworks for maximizing the practicality of RIS to facilitate the realization of smart radio propagation environments, elaborated from shallow to deep insights. We begin with the basic concept and fundamental characteristics of RIS, followed by the overview of the research status of RIS. Then, we analyze the inevitable trend of RIS to be combined with AI. In particular, we focus on recent research about RIS-based architectures embedded with AI, elucidating from the intelligent structures and systems of metamaterials to the AI-embedded RIS-assisted wireless communication systems. Finally, the challenges and potential of the topic are discussed.

中文翻译：

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RIS 和 AI 在无线通信中的相互作用：基础知识、架构、应用和开放研究问题


未来的无线通信网络预计将满足前所未有的性能要求，以支持我们高度数字化和全球数据驱动的社会。为了实现我们的目标，必须克服各种技术挑战。在众多潜在技术中，可重构智能表面（RIS）和人工智能（AI）引起了广泛关注，从而导致了将它们用于无线通信系统的研究激增。基于RIS的无线通信框架和人工智能技术作为第六代网络的两大前景技术，相互影响、相互促进，共同打造可控、智能、可重构、可编程的无线传播环境。本文探讨了RIS与人工智能结合的实现之路，更具体地说，将人工智能技术集成到基于RIS的框架中，最大限度地发挥RIS的实用性，以促进智能无线电传播环境的实现，从浅到深地进行了阐述。首先介绍了RIS的基本概念和基本特征，然后概述了RIS的研究现状。然后，我们分析了RIS与AI结合的必然趋势。我们特别关注最近关于嵌入人工智能的基于RIS的架构的研究，阐明从超材料的智能结构和系统到嵌入人工智能的RIS辅助无线通信系统。最后，讨论了该主题的挑战和潜力。