McKinsey’s newly-released Technology Trends Outlook 2022 named applied AI and industrializing machine learning as two of 14 of the most significant technology trends unfolding today.

According to McKinsey, the study builds on trend research shared in 2021, adding new data and deeper analysis and examining “such tangible, quantitative factors as investment, research activity, and news coverage to gauge the momentum of each trend.”

Applied AI tops list with maturity and innovation

Applied AI, considered by McKinsey as based on proven and mature technologies, scored highest of all 14 trends on quantitative measures of innovation, interest and investment, with viable applications in more industries and closer to a state of mainstream adoption than other trends.

In a 2021 McKinsey Global Survey on the state of AI, 56% of respondents said their organizations had adopted AI, up from 50% in the 2020 survey. According to the 2022 report, tech industries are leading in AI adoption, while product development and service operations are the business functions that have seen the most benefits from applied AI.