Beyond ChatGPT: US leads in AI by ‘wide margin’

The US is the global leader in artificial intelligence, with China a distant second – and falling further behind, according to a new ranking released by Stanford University.

ChatGPT is likely the first thing that comes to mind when people hear the words “artificial intelligence.” The AI boom began in the US with the launch of OpenAI’s chatbot two years ago and continues to give the country a significant edge over other nations.

Data collected by the Stanford Institute for Human-Centered AI shows the US leading all other nations by a 'wide margin' in key areas of the global AI ecosystem. According to its Global Vibrancy Tool 2024, the US has released more AI models, invested more, and produced more quality AI research than any other country.

China ranks second but lags significantly from the US, followed by the UK, India, UAE, France, and South Korea. Germany, Japan, and Singapore round up the top 10. In total, 36 countries were analyzed across 42 indicators to assess the strength of their AI ecosystems.

“AI has increased as a topic of national interest for countries across the globe, and corresponding narratives about which countries lead in AI have become more prominent than ever,” said Nestor Maslej, of Stanford’s AI Index research team that developed the tool.

According to Maslej, there’s limited data providing a clear and quantitative view of where countries actually stand in AI.

“At the AI Index, we wanted to address this gap with a rigorous tool that could help policymakers, business leaders, and the public ground these geopolitical AI narratives in fact,” he said.

US ‘pulling away’

The Global Vibrancy Tool ranked countries across parameters related to AI, including research output, economic activity, and infrastructure. The tool also takes into account how national AI systems evolved over time.

“In recent years, there has been much focus on how the U.S. compares to China in AI. This tool indicates that while the two superpowers used to be competitors, the US is quickly pulling away,” the report said.

China leads the world in AI patenting, but the US attracted more AI-related private investment. In 2023, the US saw AI investments reach $67.2 billion as opposed to China’s $7.8 billion. While private investment in China and the EU together with the UK declined by 44.2% and 14.1%, respectively, since 2022, the US saw an increase of 22.1%.

The only investment area where China outpaces the US is facial recognition and it’s not far behind the US in semiconductor investments.

However, the US produced more “notable” machine learning models (61 vs. EU’s 21 and China’s 15), the data showed. It also boasted the highest number of AI job postings and newly funded AI startups.

The EU and the UK have also seen significant increases in the number of new AI companies, in contrast to China, which experienced a slight year-over-year decrease.