Global innovation and competition in quantum technology, viewed through the lens of patents and artificial intelligence

In this work we elucidate international trends in the field of quantum technology (QT) by analysing a global patent database built from an operational definition of QT that was generated through the curated application of artificial intelligence (AI). In doing so, we demonstrate how the sophisticated use of intellectual property information, enhanced by the artful deployment of AI techniques, may produce more reliable and useful revelations for policymakers and managers about global innovation in emerging fields of technology than is possible through conventional methods of data collection and analysis. We also demonstrate the utility of this approach for reliably characterising the evolving constituent sub-fields of QT. By adopting a hybrid human-AI approach to both the definition and the analysis of QT, we have produced some novel insights about global innovation and national organisational profiles in the QT field, particularly concerning dynamic competition between the USA and China.