Spatiotemporal distribution and dynamics evolution of artificial intelligence development in China.

The quantified measurement and comprehensive analysis of artificial intelligence development (AIDEV) are vital for countries to form AI industrial ecology and promote the long-term development of regional AI technology. Based on the innovation ecosystems (IE) theory, this paper constructs an evaluation system to measure and analyze the spatiotemporal distribution and dynamic evolution of the AIDEV in China from 2011 to 2020. The results show that the AIDEV of China presents an overall upward trend and an obvious unbalance in the spatial distribution which is "eastern > central > western". Meanwhile, the provinces of low-level AIDEV are catching up with the high-level provinces, which leads to the regional difference of AIDEV narrowing. Moreover, the concentration and polarization phenomenon of AIDEV in China has been weakening and the AIDEV will continue to increase in the next three years. Further, there is a significantly positive spatial autocorrelation of AIDEV. Finally, high AIDEV provinces will increase the probability of surrounding provinces' AIDEV to develop. This paper expands the research stream in the field of AI research, extends the application scenarios of IE theory, and puts forward some relevant policy recommendations.