The United States is the global leader in artificial intelligence with China in a “distant second,” according to a newly released index from Stanford University.
The Global Vibrancy Tool 2024 from the Stanford Institute for Human-Centered AI (HAI) measures a country’s AI ecosystem based on key indicators including research papers, private investment, patents, and more. The tool analyzed data from 36 countries to find that the U.S. leads in several key areas, especially in private AI investments.
“The U.S. has the world’s most robust AI ecosystem and outperforms every other country by significant margins,” the Stanford HAI team said in a Nov. 21 press release. “The Global Vibrancy Tool ranks countries across various pillars of AI significance, including research and development (AI research output), economy (level of AI-related economic activity), and infrastructure (underlying AI infrastructure). The U.S. leads in virtually every pillar.”
According to the report, the U.S. far outpaced China in private investment, reaching $67.22 billion in 2023 compared to China’s $7.76 billion.
With notable AI companies such as OpenAI, Google, and Meta headquartered in the U.S., it’s no surprise that the nation produced more notable machine learning models – producing 61 models in 2023 compared to China’s 15.
The United States also gained points for taking a proactive stance in AI regulation, passing a total of 23 AI-related laws since 2017. Nevertheless, Congress has yet to pass broad AI regulation – despite lawmakers calling for “smart regulation.”
However, the report points out that China has shown “strong growth in AI innovation, particularly in patent generation, granting nearly three times as many AI patents as the United States.” China granted over 44,000 AI patents from 2017 to 2023, while the U.S. only granted over 15,000.
While the report says there is “a significant gap” between China and the U.S., “China’s focus on developing cutting-edge AI technologies and increasing its R&D investments has positioned it as a major AI powerhouse.”
Behind the U.S. and China, the other countries that made the top 10 include the United Kingdom, India, the United Arab Emirates, France, South Korea, Germany, Japan, and Singapore.
“The launch of the Global Vibrancy Tool is just a start,” said Vanessa Parli, director of research at Stanford HAI and a member of the AI Index Steering Committee. “We are optimistic that the tool will encourage improvements in AI-related data collection efforts. In fact, we are crossing our fingers that the tool can open the door to new data-driven collaborations between HAI and countries across the world.”
