Data released by the United Nations shows that China leads the world in patent applications in the field of generative artificial intelligence, such as chatbots, with a number six times greater than the United States.
Generative artificial intelligence technology enables users to create content such as text, images, music, and computer code, and is widely used in various industries and consumer products, including chatbots like ChatGPT, Google Gemini, and Baidu's "Wenxin Yanyi." According to the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), there have been over 50,000 global patent applications for generative artificial intelligence in the past decade, with images and videos dominating, followed by text and voice/music, and patents based on molecular, genetic, and protein data also rapidly growing.
Christopher Harrison, the patent analysis manager at WIPO, stated that the field is developing rapidly and the growth rate is expected to accelerate further. Between 2014 and 2023, China submitted over 38,000 related patent applications, far surpassing the United States' 6,276. Of the top five applicants globally, four are from China: Tencent, China Ping An, Baidu, and the Chinese Academy of Sciences.
Harrison also pointed out that China's patent applications cover a wide range of fields, from publishing and document management to autonomous driving. The WIPO report also highlighted the significant contributions of universities in artificial intelligence research, with Chinese universities leading in this area. In addition, China has achieved remarkable progress in the cultivation of AI talent and the construction of infrastructure.