Has China caught up to the US in AI research? An exploration of mimetic isomorphism as a model for late industrializers

TL;DR

This paper analyzes China's rapid growth in AI research, showing it has caught up with the US in volume and is closing the quality gap, driven by global trends, diaspora contributions, and policy factors.

Contribution

It introduces a novel measure of China's imitation of US AI research and demonstrates that China has bridged the knowledge gap by 2018, indicating a move towards independent research.

Findings

China leads in AI research volume but US retains slight quality edge.

By 2018, China caught up with the US on AI research topics.

International collaboration enhances research impact.

Abstract

Artificial Intelligence (AI), a cornerstone of 21st-century technology, has seen remarkable growth in China. In this paper, we examine China's AI development process, demonstrating that it is characterized by rapid learning and differentiation, surpassing the export-oriented growth propelled by Foreign Direct Investment seen in earlier Asian industrializers. Our data indicates that China currently leads the USA in the volume of AI-related research papers. However, when we delve into the quality of these papers based on specific metrics, the USA retains a slight edge. Nevertheless, the pace and scale of China's AI development remain noteworthy. We attribute China's accelerated AI progress to several factors, including global trends favoring open access to algorithms and research papers, contributions from China's broad diaspora and returnees, and relatively lax data protection policies. In the vein of our research, we have developed a novel measure for gauging China's imitation of US research. Our analysis shows that by 2018, the time lag between China and the USA in addressing AI research topics had evaporated. This finding suggests that China has effectively bridged a significant knowledge gap and could potentially be setting out on an independent research trajectory. While this study compares China and the USA exclusively, it's important to note that research collaborations between these two nations have resulted in more highly cited work than those produced by either country independently. This underscores the power of international cooperation in driving scientific progress in AI.