Artificial intelligence (Al) is a term that refers to machines that can learn, understand, reason, and interact in ways that are similar to humans. It can be technical infrastructure (algorithms), a component of a (production) process, or an end-user product. 

The current pandemic crisis encourages investments in AI and ML to adapt to a changing business environment. Many verticals, such as finance, retail, manufacturing, and transportation, are undergoing fundamental restructuring as a result of harsh economic conditions.

In this report, over 60,000 patent applications filed worldwide between 2011 and 2021 in the field of artificial intelligence/machine learning were examined.