Semantic and goal-oriented communication: transmit meaning, not bits

From Shannon to Semantic Communication

Classical communication theory (Shannon, 1948) focuses on accurately reproducing transmitted bits at the receiver regardless of their meaning. Semantic communication represents a paradigm shift — transmitting the meaning or intent behind data rather than raw bits. A semantic encoder extracts essential information using AI models, transmits a compact semantic representation, and the receiver reconstructs the content using a shared knowledge base. For example, transmitting a scene description instead of a full video frame can reduce data volume by 10-100x while preserving the information needed…