Artificial Intelligence (AI) has been growing in significance and viability as a solution to real world problems for some time. The use of AI to do character recognition, voice recognition and image recognition has helped to move the state of the art forward, in addition to the use of AI for facial recognition. AI got a boost when cellular phones and smart speakers starting using AI. The fact that AI is being used in several technologies that are in broad use has caused even more work to be done to make the basic concepts of AI more applicable and useful to solving common problems. Today, several entities are working on using AI to solve problems related to autonomous driving machines.

Basically, AI is a broad term that encompasses several types of machine learning and neural networks. AI is defined by some as the simulation of human intelligence processes by machines, especially computer systems. These processes include learning (the acquisition of information and rules for using the information), reasoning (using rules to reach approximate or definite conclusions) and self-correction. Some AI systems relay upon Mathematical Search and Optimization routines. These routines search through large numbers of possible solutions. “Reasoning” can be reduced to performing a search for a solution from among a bin of possible solutions. Optimization is used to select a solution from the solution set of possible solutions. There are other solutions that are being explored as well, including hybrid intelligence systems that include various approaches such as neuro-fuzzy systems, connectionist expert systems, reinforcement learning with fuzzy, neural or evolutionary methods, as well as others.

AI potentially has a broad applicability, since one of the strengths of AI is the ability to identify hard to identify patterns within a set of data without the need for the user of the system to understand or known much about the particular patterns that the system detects. Some applications include smart cities, smart homes, smart offices, personal assistants, and smart cars (including both passenger assistants and self-driving). Additional applications for AI seem to come to our attention almost every day. One area in which AI is seeing fast growing use is in the realm of marketing, smart product delivery and customer identification.

There are still several areas in which AI may be applied that have yet to be considered. This raises several opportunities for those enterprises that are actively working to address some of these areas. We have been actively tracking the technology and monitoring the patent activity in the area. Some of our clients are moving forward with innovative inventions. New technologies like AI are exciting opportunities for those that are excited by the challenges that arise with such new ideas. We look forward to assisting our clients in determining whether patent protection is the best way for them to ensure a place in the future of AI inventions. By getting an early foot hold in this exciting new area, the potential could be substantial. Nonetheless, there is already a body of prior art that is building around AI and the drafting of applications for patent protection of AI related inventions require skill and care to ensure that these important early inventions are properly protected. By putting our experience to work for our clients, we can assist with making the most of this opportunity.