According to UN data revealed on Wednesday, China leads the way in generative AI inventions, such as chatbots, filing six times more patents than its closest rival, the United States.

 Generative AI, which creates text, images, computer code, and music from existing information, has seen explosive growth. As reported by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), over 50,000 patent applications were filed in the past decade, and a quarter of these applications were filed in 2023 alone.

WIPO Patent Analytics Manager Christopher Harrison highlighted the rapid expansion of this field: 'This is a booming area; it's growing at an increasing speed, and we expect it to continue growing.'

Between 2014 and 2023, China filed over 38,000 GenAI inventions, while the United States filed 6,276 during the same period. Chinese patent applications span various sectors, including autonomous driving, publishing, and document management.

South Korea, Japan, and India ranked third, fourth, and fifth, respectively, with India showing the fastest growth. Notable applicants include China's ByteDance (owner of video app TikTok), Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba Group, and Microsoft (a backer of startup OpenAI, which created ChatGPT).

While chatbots enhance customer service, GenAI can potentially transform other economic sectors, such as science, publishing, transportation, and security. WIPO's Harrison emphasised the scientific industry, where GenAI-created molecules could expedite drug development.

WIPO anticipates a further surge in patent filings and plans to release future updates, possibly using GenAI to illustrate trends.