2021 AI and machine learning outlook

AI and machine learning may still be hot and top of mind for technology decision makers, line of business folk and investors, but that didn't prevent 2020 from broadsiding some AI initiatives. In our Vote AI ML Infrastructure 2020 survey published in July, 58% of organizations surveyed expected COVID-19 to have a negative impact on their existing AI initiatives, and 19% said the pandemic has led them to stop work on these projects. But 75% of organizations said COVID-19 led to new AI initiatives. In our just-published data from Vote AI ML Use Cases 2021 survey, the picture has changed and things look more optimistic, with 86% of respondents agreeing that the pandemic has or will cause their organization to invest in new AI initiatives. With pandemic-induced uncertainty still looming over us all, this report looks at some of the key trends in AI we expect to see in 2021.