Papers are one metric. In the case of ML, as with other technologies such as web infrastructure, there comes a point where the state of research plateaus for a

Papers are one metric. In the case of ML, as with other technologies such as web infrastructure, there comes a point where the state of research plateaus for a while and the main progress is in commercial implementations. So, for example, autonomous vehicle technology now is more a matter of implementations than theory. This is where China has an advantage over the US by virtue of the willingness of its government to make large scale infrastructure investments. The US once led in such endeavours e.g. Eisenhower's Federal Aid Highway Act of 1956 that paid for 90 percent of the cost of construction of Interstate Highways. Now, in the government domain, the leader is China. China intends for self-driving cars to propel smart megacity https://asia.nikkei.com/Economy/China-intends-for-self-driving-cars-to-propel-smart-megacity https://asia.nikkei.com/Economy/China-intends-for-self-drivi...