Artificial intelligence (AI) is regarded as one of the most disruptive technology of the century and with countless applications. What does it mean for radiation protection? This article describes the fundamentals of machine learning (ML) based methods and presents the inaugural applications in different fields of radiation protection. It is foreseen that the usage of AI will increase in radiation protection. Consequently, this article explores some of the benefits and also the potential barriers and questions, including ethical ones, that can come out. The article proposes that collaboration between radiation protection professionals and data scientist experts can accelerate and guide the development of the algorithms for effective scientific and technological outcomes.