China has become the leader in applying for patents related to generative artificial intelligence, surpassing the United States by a significant margin, as reported by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO). WIPO documented around 54,000 inventions related to generative AI over the decade ending in 2023, indicating a steady rise in interest and development of the technology, especially notable in the explosive growth observed in 2022.
WIPO’s report concentrated solely on generative AI, excluding other aspects of artificial intelligence like facial recognition or autonomous driving. The aim of this analysis is to provide insights into the evolving landscape of generative AI innovation and its potential future trajectories.
China outstripped the rest of the world during the 2014-2023 period, contributing over 38,200 generative AI inventions, with the United States trailing with nearly 6,300. Following them were South Korea, Japan, and India with significant but fewer inventions. Generative AI applications such as ChatGPT from OpenAI, Google Gemini, and Baidu’s Ernie have found utility in various industries like life sciences, manufacturing, transportation, security, and telecommunications.
Concerns have been raised regarding the impact of generative AI on employment, with fears of potential job displacement and issues related to fair compensation for human-generated content that might be utilized by AI systems. While the quantity of patents can indicate trends, WIPO emphasizes that it’s too early to determine the market value or societal impact of these inventions.
Despite the patent numbers, experts point out that the quality and influence of AI innovations cannot be solely judged based on patent applications. The rivalry between the U.S. and China in AI development is well-recognized, but the U.S. currently leads in producing cutting-edge AI systems based on certain metrics, with the highest number of notable machine-learning models and foundation models, according to the AI Index at Stanford University.
In addition to patents, other factors like the release of advanced AI models, private investments, and the establishment of AI startups denote the overall strength and progress of a country in the AI domain. While the patent statistics provide valuable insights, a comprehensive evaluation of AI advancement includes various aspects beyond just the number of patents issued.
Identified as contributing to this report was Matt O’Brien from Providence, Rhode Island.
