How data shape actor relations in artificial intelligence innovation systems: an empirical observation from China

Abstract With the rise of artificial intelligence (AI), data are widely viewed as the “new oil”. However, data substantially differ from conventional resources in the sense that they are important not only for production but also for knowledge development and public policymaking. This article explores whether and how data reshape government–industry–university relations in the era of AI. Taking China’s AI innovation system as a case, this article investigates the dynamics of actor relations in the business subsystem, knowledge subsystem, and regulatory subsystem. The change of the fundamental input from physical resources to virtual data in AI innovation systems has significantly transformed the relations among industry, state, and academia, and digital platforms are playing an increasingly important role in business value creation, knowledge generation, and regulation formation due to their control of valuable data and frontier expertise in the context of uncertainty.