Despite being rivals in artificial intelligence, the United States and China collaborate on AI research more than many realize, particularly at the cutting edge. An analysis by WIRED of over 5,000 AI research papers presented at the Neural Information Processing Systems (NeurIPS) conference last month revealed that a notable number of these papers involved collaboration between U.S. and Chinese labs.

The analysis showed that 141 of the 5,290 papers, approximately 3 percent, listed authors affiliated with both U.S. and Chinese institutions. This level of collaboration appears consistent, with 134 out of 4,497 papers in 2024 also involving authors from both countries. The research highlights a continued exchange of ideas and expertise, even amidst geopolitical tensions.

The collaboration extends beyond joint authorship. WIRED's analysis also examined how algorithms and models developed in one country are shared and adapted across the Pacific. The transformer architecture, initially developed by Google researchers and now a cornerstone of the AI industry, was featured in 292 papers. The transformer, a neural network architecture, is particularly effective at processing sequential data, making it ideal for tasks like natural language processing and machine translation. Its widespread adoption underscores the interconnected nature of AI research globally.

This collaboration has significant implications for the advancement of AI and its impact on society. By pooling resources and expertise, researchers from both countries can accelerate the development of new AI technologies. However, the collaboration also raises questions about intellectual property, national security, and the ethical implications of AI.

The U.S. and China are both investing heavily in AI research and development, recognizing its potential to transform industries and reshape the global economy. While competition between the two countries is fierce, the collaboration on fundamental research suggests a shared understanding of the importance of AI and a willingness to engage in some level of cooperation. The future of this collaboration remains uncertain, given the complex geopolitical landscape. However, the current level of engagement indicates that the U.S. and China are likely to remain intertwined in the field of AI for the foreseeable future.