If you are looking for private funding for research in artificial intelligence, the United States is the place to be. If you want to do AI research, China is probably the place to go. And what if you're in Europe? it's complicated.
That's what data from a new OECD report on the global digital economy suggests — and the stark comparison is likely to increase anxiety about China in both Europe and the United States.
According to a report released on May 14th, the US remains the world's leading private investment in AI-related fields, with approximately $300 billion invested by the US, followed by China at $91 billion and the EU at $45 billion. It becomes.
However, in terms of scientific publications on AI, China continues to lead the US and Europe not only in the number of papers but also in the papers most frequently cited by other researchers.
The trio remains at the top of most AI index rankings presented by the Paris-based Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, which provides a platform for discussing economic development for mainly high-income countries around the world. This report brings together data from OECD countries and other sources to provide the most comprehensive view of the current state of the digital world. However, most of the judgment of winners and losers is left to the reader, who at one point diplomatically states, “The future of AI is uncertain and complex, and brings great opportunities but also risks to society and the economy.'' ” concludes.
influential publications
China's biggest advantage when it comes to AI development is its vast number of scientific publications. In 2023, there will be 215,000 publications in China, followed by 137,000 in the EU and 109,000 in the US. It is followed by fast-growing India, which has achieved impressive results in the field, with the number of AI-related publications increasing from 1,000 in 2000 to 56,000 in 2023. I am.
Even more worrying for Western countries is the large and growing influence of China studies, as evidenced by the share of publications that are frequently cited by other researchers. In 2000, China accounted for only 2.5% of the world's high-impact AI research publications, compared to 22% for the EU and 36% for the US. However, already in 2019, the share of Chinese researchers increased to 25.7%, overtaking both Europe and the United States for the first time. Over the same period, the EU's share increased by just 1 point, while the US' share decreased by 13 points. But since then, China has continued to rise, with its share of influential publications reaching 37% last year, while both the EU and US shares continued to fall (the US is now 4 percentage points below Europe). (This is the lowest performance ever). .
investment gap
And there's also the issue of money. As part of its overall dominance in private sector financing, the US also leads the world in venture capital (VC) investments in AI, while the EU lags behind.
Global VC investment in AI peaked in 2021, reaching $114 billion in the US, $48.3 billion in China, and $16.6 billion in the EU. That year, investment was primarily directed toward AI in mobility and autonomous vehicles. Since then, economic turmoil has slowed global VC investment, while China, with its burgeoning electric vehicle industry, continues to bet big on mobility and the US is diversifying. In 2023, most VC investment in AI will go to media, social platforms, and marketing companies, followed by IT infrastructure and hosting companies, totaling $30.7 billion.
In contrast, Europe is grappling with peanuts. The EU sector with the most VC investment (energy, materials and utilities) received $1.7 billion in the same year, followed by IT infrastructure and hosting with $1.3 billion. The difference between it and its competitors is significant, with VC investment in the US totaling approximately $55 billion in 2023, $18 billion in China, and $8 billion in the EU.
Indeed, as many politicians have lamented recently, Europe's private investment sector is still struggling to get off the ground. According to a previous report of the European Commission, comparing the data available for the last three years in the main areas related to the development of AI, namely electronics, software and hardware technologies, private investments in the EU start from 35 euros. Increased to 10 euros. 45 billion euros, 28%. At the same time, China has grown by 48% to a staggering 91 billion euros, while the US has grown by 55% to a staggering 299 billion euros, benefiting from huge investments by major AI companies such as Microsoft, Meta and Alphabet.
Attraction rules
Often the beacon of hope for Europe is its people. When it comes to measuring AI talent attractiveness, calculated based on the AI skills listed on LinkedIn, the numbers are very positive. On average, the EU attracts 0.5 times more talent than other countries, a similar performance to the US (0.7). According to the OECD, some countries in particular are performing well as talent hubs, bringing in far more talent than they are missing out on in the AI field. This is the case for Luxembourg (5.5x), Germany (2.7x) and Estonia (1.9x).
However, the attraction tends to be quite concentrated. Some of Europe's best-performing countries for AI talent are primarily in Western Europe, which is already a center for advanced technology. On the contrary, countries that are at a disadvantage in the competition for talent include Southern and Eastern European countries such as Greece, Lithuania, Hungary, and Slovakia.
