The Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI) has released a new technology tracker revealing a discouraging disparity in the strengths of artificial intelligence (AI) and advanced analytics between Western nations and China.
Among the findings, a graph illustrates the volume of research papers published from 2019 to 2023, which ASPI used to assess national research performance in advanced data analytics. China emerged at the top of the rankings, contributing 33.2% of highly cited publications. In contrast, the United States placed second at 14.4%, while the United Kingdom ranked fourth with a mere 4%, following India, which had 5.4%.
During this period, China published the most research papers on advanced analytics, totaling 8,672, compared to 3,454 from the U.S. The U.K. lagged behind in seventh place with 719 publications, just behind Italy’s 771.
ASPI identified that all top 10 academic institutions renowned for advanced analytics, based on highly cited publications, are located in China. The leading three are the Chinese Academy of Sciences (first), Huazhong University of Science and Technology (second), and Xidian University (third). In stark contrast, the UK’s Imperial College ranked 62nd.
In examining the career paths of what it classified as the “most talented cohort of researchers” in advanced analytics, China again led with 180 undergraduate researchers, while the U.S. had 125. For postgraduate researchers, the U.S. topped the list with 226, followed by the European Union with 145, and China in third with 88.
ASPI categorizes advanced analytics as a subset of AI. Regarding AI research contributions, the U.S. was the leader in 2009 with 12.5% of publications, while the U.K. was second at 2.1%. By 2023, however, China had taken the lead with 29%, leaving the U.S. at 12% and pushing the U.K. down to fourth place at 6%, behind India’s 9%.
Entrepreneur Arnaud Bertrand, founder of HouseTrip (now part of TripAdvisor), commented on Twitter: “We are witnessing a profound seismic shift, at a speed that is astonishing considering the widespread belief in the West just a decade ago that China ‘couldn’t innovate.’ Perhaps this underlines a significant lesson: our biases and arrogance not only clouded our perception of others but also hampered our own advancement.”
In light of the UK’s policies aimed at attracting overseas talent amid its efforts to reduce net migration, ASPI’s data on inflows of top research talent is particularly revealing. The U.K. welcomed three of China’s leading advanced analytics researchers, while the U.S. attracted 15, and the EU brought in eight. In total, the U.K. received six advanced analytics researchers from the U.S., eight from the EU, and just one from India.