Comparative Analysis between International Research Hotspots and National-Level Policy Keywords on Artificial Intelligence in China from 2009 to 2018

In the last decade, artificial intelligence (AI) has undergone many important developments in China and has risen to the level of national strategy, which is closely related to the areas of research and policy promotion. The interactive relationship between the hotspots of China’s international AI research and its national-level policy keywords is the basis for further clarification and reference in academics and political circles. There has been very little research on the interaction between academic research and policy making. Understanding the relationship between the content of academic research and the content emphasized by actual operational policy will help scholars to better apply research to practice, and help decision-makers to manage effectively. Based on 3577 English publications about AI published by Chinese scholars in 2009–2018, and 262 Chinese national-level policy documents published during this period, this study carried out scientometric analysis and quantitative analysis of policy documents through the knowledge maps of AI international research hotspots in China and the co-occurrence maps of Chinese policy keywords, and conducted a comparative analysis that divided China’s AI development into three stages: the initial exploration stage, the steady rising stage, and the rapid development stage. The studies showed that in the initial exploration stage (2009–2012), research hotspots and policy keywords had a certain alienation relationship; in the steady rising stage (2013–2015), research hotspots focused more on cutting-edge technologies and policy keywords focused more on macro-guidance, and the relationship began to become close; and in the rapid development stage (2016–2018), the research hotspots and policy keywords became closely integrated, and they were mutually infiltrated and complementary, thus realizing organic integration and close connection. Through comparative analysis between international research hotspots and national-level policy keywords on AI in China from 2009 to 2018, the development of AI in China was revealed to some extent, along with the interaction between academics and politics in the past ten years, which is of great significance for the sustainable development and effective governance of China’s artificial intelligence.