The Geography of Artificial Intelligence Development in China: Spatial Distribution and Influential Factors

As the world enters the digital era, artificial intelligence (AI) has become a new focal point of international competition and a key engine of economic development. China stands out in the global wave of AI advancement, serving as a critical case for examining the spatial dynamics of AI development from a geographic perspective. Based on a proposed sociotechnical analytical framework, this article aims to study the geography of AI development across Chinese cities, focusing on the spatial distribution and influential factors. Specifically, the framework examines AI development from three dimensions: the social system, the technical system, and the external environment. The results reveal significant regional imbalances in AI development, with strong spatial clustering in eastern coastal cities and emerging hubs in select western regions. The empirical findings also demonstrate that the social system, technical system, and external environment can influence a city’s AI development. This study contributes to a nuanced geographical understanding of the landscape of AI development and its underlying dynamics in China.