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The purpose of this Q&A paper is to provide an overview of artificial intelligence* with a special focus on machine learning* as a currently predominant subfield thereof. Machine learning-based applications have been discussed intensely in legal scholarship, including in the field of intellectual property law, while many technical aspects remain ambiguous and often cause confusion. This text was drafted by the Research Group on the Regulation of the Digital Economy of the Max Planck Institute for Innovation and Competition in the pursuit of understanding the fundamental characteristics of artificial intelligence, and machine learning in particular, that could potentially have an impact on intellectual property law. As a background paper, it provides the technological basis for the Group's ongoing research relating thereto. The current version summarises insights gained from background literature research, interviews with practitioners and a workshop held in