US leading race in artificial intelligence, China rising – Survey

WASHINGTON: The United States is leading rivals in development and use of artificial intelligence while China is rising quickly and European Union is lagging, a research report showed yesterday.

The study by the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation assessed AI using 30 separate metrics including human talent, research activity, commercial development and investment in hardware and software.

The United States leads, with an overall score of 44.6 points on a 100-point scale, followed by China with 32 and the European Union with 23.3, the report based on 2020 data found.

The researchers found the US leading in key areas such as investment in startups and research and development funding.

But China has made strides in several areas and last year had more of the world’s 500 most powerful supercomputers than any other nation – 214, compared with 113 for the US and 91 for the EU.

“The Chinese government has made AI a top priority and the results are showing,” said Daniel Castro, director of the think tank’s Center for Data Innovation and lead author of the report.

“The United States and European Union need to pay attention to what China is doing and respond, because nations that lead in the development and use of AI will shape its future and significantly improve their economic competitiveness, while those that fall behind risk losing competitiveness in key industries.”

The EU lagged notably in venture capital and private equity funding, while faring better in terms of research papers published.