Impact of Industrial Intelligence on China’s Urban Land Green Utilization Efficiency

Against the backdrop of the fourth technological revolution, industrial intelligence (INDI) represented by industrial robots has rapidly developed. This evolution provides favorable opportunities for precise decision-making in pollution control and achieving China’s “dual carbon” goals. Previous studies have mainly discussed the economic effects of INDI from the perspective of the labor market. This study shifts its focus to examining the impact of INDI on the land green utilization efficiency (LGUE) in cities. Using the panel data of Chinese cities spanning 2009–2021, this study empirically tests the effect and transmission mechanism of INDI on LGUE. We find that urban INDI significantly enhances LGUE. In terms of its transmission mechanism, INDI drives improvements in urban LGUE through technological progress, energy structure optimization, and industrial structure upgrading. Urban infrastructure construction and financial agglomeration level can further strengthen the positive impact of INDI on LGUE. In addition, the improvement in LGUE due to INDI is more significant in non-resource-based and large-sized cities than resource-based and small and medium-sized cities. Therefore, each region should enhance the integration of intelligent technology with traditional industrial manufacturing. Doing so is essential to establish comprehensive assessment indicators that balance environmental protection and economic growth, strengthen regional information infrastructure construction, ensure steady financial flow, and support green development initiatives across regions.