China has been the country with the most number of patents published in artificial intelligence (AI), slightly edging the United States and Japan (Note: the three countries combined for 74% of world's total), according to the "China's AI Development Report 2018" released by China Institute for Science and Technology Policy at Tsinghua University.
In 2017, the market value of China's AI Industry reached 23.7 billion yuan, up 67% year on year. There are 1,011 companies engaging in this line of business, second only to the U.S. number of 2,028. China is the busiest country in mapping AI technologies by filing patents, leading the U.S. and Japan by a small margin. These three countries combined account for 74% of the world's total of AI patents published. IBM, Microsoft and Samsung are the front-running patent applicants globally while China State Grid, an up and coming startup in the past five years, immediately follows at No.4 Technology in the globe.
China's AI patent filings concentrate on data processing system and data information transmission. Research institutes/universities and companies split the list of most prolific AI patent owners almost down the middle, holding 52% and 48% of the top 30 posts respectively. China published the largest number of AI research papers as well as highly cited papers. China is home to 18,232 AI technology research talents, accounting for 8.9% of the world's total and second only to the U.S. (13.9%).
The report advises that China shall strengthen basic research of AI, optimize research environment, nurture and attract top talents, encourage collaboration between research institutes/universities and industry, empower companies to become the major force of innovation, participate in the construction of the AI global governance mechanism, making the Chinese voice heard in areas such as future technology development, risk prevention and norm-setting of morals and ethics.
Source: China IP News
