Professor Leo Schmallenbach and Professor Marc J. Lerchenmueller at Mannheim Business School, argue that Asia has become a global powerhouse in artificial intelligence life sciences research
Artificial intelligence (AI) promises to fundamentally transform the healthcare sector. The technology is already able to analyse large quantities of patient data to aid in diagnoses. It can be deployed in algorithms to optimise patient enrolment in clinical trials, streamlining the drug development process.
The high hopes for this technology are reflected in the projection that AI’s value in the global healthcare market could reach $34.5 billion in 2027, an eightfold growth since 2020, as reported in The Economist.
However, a geographic concentration of AI expertise could make it harder to implement new developments equitably across the world. Regions that conduct less research on how AI can be deployed in a medical context may be left behind, as practices are updated based on studies of sample groups that underrepresent some populations.
Without local expertise and context-specific data, these regions may face solutions that are poorly adapted to their health systems, patient needs, and resource constraints, further widening existing disparities.
Asia’s rise as a research powerhouse
Asia has emerged as a global powerhouse in researching how AI can be applied in life sciences, leading all other world regions, including Europe and North America, in the total number of publications. Life sciences refer to the study of living organisms, and, as such, underpin advances in healthcare, agriculture, and biotechnology.
Asia’s dominance in this sphere is due in large part to China’s investment in AI research. Between 2000 and 2022, China accounted for over 50% of Asia’s publications in this field, with its annual output surpassing the U.S. for the first time in 2020.
Together, China and the U.S. accounted for around 44% of all global AI in life sciences publications over this period, totalling over 170,000 publications. This places them far above the next tier of countries publishing studies in this area, which includes the UK, Germany, Japan, Canada, India, and South Korea.
This lead is due to the larger number of active scientists and higher level of funding available in China and the U.S., with geopolitical competition being one source of motivation for investing in AI research.
In the wake of rising nationalism and protectionism, public discourse often fuels the idea that both countries are engaged in an “arms race” to harness the capabilities of new technology, including in healthcare.
For instance, China announced an ambitious plan for its domestic development of AI in 2017, with the aim of becoming the world’s leading AI innovation centre by 2030. This goal has been underscored by large amounts of funding pledged for AI-enabling infrastructure.
While these funding pledges have enabled China to rapidly accelerate its research programme, its comparatively lower focus on international collaborations may limit the influence of its new studies.
The importance of international cooperation
We conducted an analysis of 397,967 AI life science studies published between 2000 and 2022, along with 14.5 million associated citations, and found that international collaborations produce more impactful research.
This is demonstrated by the fact that articles stemming from international collaborations rather than national collaborations receive, on average, 21% more citations from general life science articles and seven per cent more citations from clinical research articles. They are also, on average, 35% more likely to be published in high-ranking research outlets.
Publishing in a high-ranking outlet and receiving a high number of citations signify that other researchers view the findings of a study as reliable and influential. As scientific progress tends to be driven by research of unusual rather than average quality, this recognition plays a critical role in ensuring research has a real-world impact – in this case by enabling the more efficient and innovative use of AI in healthcare.
Despite leading in overall research production, Asia is the world region that produces the lowest percentage of AI life science research through international collaborations. Only 16% of publications led by Asian authors involve international co-authors, compared to over 30% in Africa and Oceania, and over 20% in Europe and Latin America. In North America, the figure is at 18%.
This relatively low share of international collaborations likely contributes to Asia dropping behind North America and Europe when it comes to the volume of research published in high-ranking journals and the number of citations, possibly indicating a reduced impact on healthcare practices in comparison.
Looking to the future
Greater openness to collaborating with researchers from other countries could help authors from countries such as China, India, and Japan participate in research that gainsbroader recognition and is published in more prestigious journals, while also advancing global health as a whole.
Scientific advancement in fields like healthcare benefits from cooperation across borders. Research ideas are rarely confined to national boundaries, and the talent needed to conduct research is widely dispersed.
Many of the most pressing health challenges are felt by populations across the globe, in different ethnic and cultural environments. Addressing these challenges necessitates an integrated approach, combining the knowledge of experts with different backgrounds and specialisations.
The money pledged to fund AI research by China’s government will continue to drive the country’s high output of publications, cementing Asia’s role as a powerhouse in AI life science research. However, a greater focus on international collaboration will be key to strengthening the quality and relevance of this work, increasing its chances of gaining widespread recognition, and enabling it to have a meaningful impact on the health of populations around the world.
References
- The Importance of International Cooperation. We published an analysis
of 397,967 AI life science studies published between 2000 and 2022. - Looking to the Future. Scientific advancement in fields like healthcare benefits
from cooperation across borders.
