Countries are competing to formulate digital economy development strategies and introduce incentive policies. The rapid development of the digital economy, the wide range of radiation, and the depth of its impact are unprecedented, driving profound changes in production methods, lifestyles, and governance methods. A key force in the global economic structure and changing the global competitive landscape.
Among many revolutionary digital technologies, artificial intelligence, with its “technological-economic” characteristics such as permeability, synergy, substitutability, and innovation, can expand core industries, empower integrated industries, and activate potential related industries through the expansion of core industries. to promote high-quality economic development. All major economies in the world regard the development of artificial intelligence as an important strategy to enhance national competitiveness and maintain national security.
In the field of artificial intelligence, the significance of R&D innovation is particularly important. Artificial intelligence can not only participate in the economic system as a product or service, but also realize the substitution of other traditional production factors such as labor and capital, and then reconstruct the production function, which has a transformative effect on economic operation. For a period of time in the future, accelerate the innovation and development of artificial intelligence, promote the deep integration of artificial intelligence with the Internet, big data and other industries, give full play to the role of artificial intelligence in enabling traditional industries, actively participate in the competition of the global artificial intelligence innovation chain and gain an advantageous position, and accelerate the development of my country. It is of great significance to build an innovative country and a world power in science and technology.
Main Features of the AI Innovation Chain
The concept of “innovation chain” was first used to describe the relationship between different links in innovation activities, including basic research, technology research and development in the process of technological innovation, and practical application, industrialization, and marketization in the process of product innovation.
With the accelerated evolution of a new round of scientific and technological revolution and industrial transformation, the underlying structure of the production function has changed, and new production factors and production methods have become more and more important. Chinese academic circles have generally recognized the need to actively participate in the global innovation chain competition. Strategic significance, although there are still different understandings of the innovation chain, the following consensus has been reached on the connotation of the innovation chain oriented by industrial development: there are a series of innovation nodes in the innovation chain based on industrial links, and the innovation subjects at different nodes are oriented by industrial development. Through the deployment and integration of innovation resources on the chain, value creation and appreciation are finally realized; industrial development plays a guiding role in the innovation chain, and the scope of innovation includes not only the creation of scientific research knowledge, innovation of technology and product achievements, but also the improvement of business models and service functions. ; The main body of innovation allocates and integrates innovation resources, including the allocation of tangible resources such as materials, equipment, and funds, as well as the integration of intangible resources such as knowledge, information, and concepts; among the main bodies of innovation, universities and scientific research institutions are the basic knowledge Enterprises are the main innovators of the application and commercialization of scientific and technological achievements, and financial institutions or scientific and technological intermediaries are the main regulators of innovation elements.
At present, the research on artificial intelligence innovation chain is still relatively lack of systematic. To further deepen relevant research, it is necessary to study and judge the main characteristics of the artificial intelligence innovation chain based on the “technological-economic” characteristics of artificial intelligence. The relevant features are mainly manifested in the following aspects. One is diversity. The first is the diversity of participants in innovation, including not only core enterprises, upstream and downstream enterprises, university research institutions and other innovation activities, but also other entities such as the government, financial institutions, and technology intermediaries; the second is the diversity of innovation resources, including talents, capital , patents, equipment, concepts, etc.; finally, the structural diversity of the innovation chain, including a series of supporting chain structures such as policy chain, service chain, capital chain, and talent chain. The second is synergy. The process of R&D and innovation of products by innovative entities involves the accumulation of a series of new knowledge such as demand analysis, technology deconstruction, and service evolution. innovation can be effectively achieved. The third is circularity. After innovative products enter the market, the market puts forward new demands for products and services, and the application data and information feedback generated by use and experience re-enter the innovation chain structure as a new innovation element to promote theoretical research and technological change. The fourth is development. The circular flow of innovation resources means that the innovation chain is a dynamic structure that is constantly evolving. With the continuous increase of innovation subjects, the continuous expansion of innovation scope and industrial fields, the spillover effect of innovation resources will be further exerted, and the position of innovation chain will be further consolidated.
Competitive Situation of Global AI Innovation Chain
At present, the global artificial intelligence innovation chain has basically formed a pattern led by China and the United States, and led by East Asia, North America, and Western Europe.
On the one hand, East Asia, represented by China, has initially formed a high ground for AI knowledge innovation, but North America still has the right to speak in theoretical innovation. Statistics show that the total number of publications on artificial intelligence in China ranked first in the world in 2017, and contributed 22.4% of the world’s publications in 2020. In terms of the number of articles published in journals, China surpassed the United States to become the world’s first in 2017, and the global share will reach 18% in 2020. As far as the entire East Asia region is concerned, the number of articles published in related journals will reach 26.7% of the world’s total in 2020, and a high ground for AI knowledge innovation has initially formed. However, in terms of better reflecting the key research and development direction of artificial intelligence and the right to formulate rules for the track, North America, represented by the United States, still holds the right to speak in theoretical innovation. In 2020, the number of conference publications in the United States accounted for 19.4% of the world, while China accounted for 15.2%. In terms of citations of conference publications, the United States accounted for 40.1%.
On the other hand, the world has basically formed a pattern in which China and the United States jointly lead technological innovation. According to statistics, from 2010 to 2019, the number of global AI patent applications was 521,264, of which 389,571 were filed in China, ranking first in the world, accounting for 74.7% of the global total. From 2010 to February 2021, the cumulative number of patents granted in the field of artificial intelligence in the world reached 178,000, with China accounting for 43% and the United States accounting for 33%. China’s technological innovation mainly focuses on the optimization of existing technologies and the realization of projects, and there is a relative lack of disruptive technological innovation. In contrast, the United States has a large lead in this regard.
At the same time, the global artificial intelligence software and hardware industry innovation is generally dominated by the United States, China, the European Union, and Japan. The U.S. artificial intelligence software industry has a huge volume advantage and is at a high level of innovation, basically holding the right to speak in the artificial intelligence software industry; China has continuously reduced its dependence on other countries, and has both innovation and trade advantages in the hardware industry; the European Union The software industry relies on the United States and ASEAN, and the electronics industry relies on China and the United States, and the degree of dependence is increasing; Japan still maintains its leading position in the innovation chain of artificial intelligence software and hardware industry, but its dependence on other countries is somewhat improving.
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