Intensive care units (ICU) physicians are experiencing a rapidly expanding collection of vast amounts of data from routine practice, patients’ monitoring as well as from diagnostic or prognostic tests. However, although these data could influence their clinical decisions and management, the validity and relevance of data processing methods, in particular in case of complex data sets (i.e. so-called big data, see Table 1 for related terminology) remain to be defined. A growing body of research has recently suggested that emerging artificial intelligence (AI)-derived methods could help physicians to access, organize and use important amounts of data more easily. Nowadays, such methods have already found applications in various fields, including technology, biology, computer science or sociology [1]. However, are these approaches more than merely trendy buzzwords? Are they reliable enough to match the exponential growth of medical complexity in the critical care setting? And, last but not least, can the holistic use of massive data sources available eventually provide clinically relevant information?