Tracking artificial intelligence in climate inventions with patent data

Abstract Artificial intelligence (AI) is spreading rapidly in many technology areas, and AI inventions may help climate change mitigation adaptation. Previous studies of climate-related mainly rely on expert literature, not large-scale data. Here I present an approach to track the relation between economy-wide scale. Analysis over 6 million US patents, 1976 2019, shows that within referred most often transportation, energy industrial production technologies. In highly cited occurs more frequently adaptation transport than other areas. patents was associated with around 30–100% subsequent when counting all Yet AI-climate led a greater share citations from outside field non-AI-climate patents. This suggests importance tracking both increased invention activity areas where emerge.