Investigating the impacts of artificial intelligence technology on technological innovation from a patent perspective

Abstract Artificial intelligence (AI) technology has been widely applied in various fields in recent years. Nevertheless, no systematic study has yet been conducted on the effects of AI technology on different fields. In this study, the impacts of the latest AI technology on technological innovation in different fields were analysed and quantized systematically from a patent perspective. Moreover, trends on AI technological innovation in some fields were analysed thoroughly. We conducted this study on a dataset of patents related to AI technology. Based on the patent dataset, we carried out a statistical analysis on technology fields, which we defined and classified based on international patent classification (IPC) number. Distributions of IPC in different fields were also analysed to determine the trends on AI technological innovation. The research conclusions can provide useful information to investors and enterprises, who are interested in the state of the art concerning AI technology.