How China is leading the way in adopting generative AI
For those of us who study disruptive innovation processes, the adoption of generative AI in China makes for a captivating case study. The global AI landscape was dramatically altered in 2023 with the launch of OpenAI’s Dall·E and ChatGPT in August and November, respectively. However, contrary to expectations, the subsequent market development and innovation diffusion has not centered on the United States or other Western countries, but instead on China.
China has emerged as the global leader in generative AI adoption. A recent survey of 1,600 executives across various industries revealed that 83% of Chinese respondents actively use generative AI in their daily operations, compared to 65% in North America and 54% globally. Furthermore, China’s dominance extends to patent development, with more than 38,000 AI-related patents registered between 2014 and 2023, dwarfing the United States’ 6,276 in the same period.
The technology adoption process in China has been remarkable. Following ChatGPT’s launch, numerous competitors emerged in the West, including Microsoft’s Copilot, Google’s Bard (later Gemini), Anthropic’s Claude, Meta’s Llama, and France’s Mistral. While some of these models restricted access to the Chinese market, domestic competitors swiftly developed dozens of alternative models. This surge in local offerings…
