Accelerating the development of AI-driven knowledge innovation system

The world is undergoing a paradigm shift in full-chain innovation driven by AI-powered scientific research, which will give rise to a completely new knowledge innovation system. This profound and comprehensive transformation presents a critical opportunity for China to build an independent knowledge innovation system and a major historical chance to accelerate its development into a science and technology powerhouse. The deep impact of this change stems from AI’s ability to reshape the epistemology and methodology of knowledge innovation, accelerating the iteration of scientific theories and the deep restructuring of knowledge systems. This shift is making the structure of knowledge more distributed, networked, and borderless; the process of knowledge creation more autonomous, platform-based, and integrated; and the foundational infrastructure for innovation more unified, open-source, and ecological. Consequently, it is altering the underlying structure and operational logic of the knowledge innovation system, which serves as the source and foundation of a nation’s innovative capacity, thereby driving the reconstruction of the national innovation system. Currently, China’s national innovation system is still unable to adapt to this systematic paradigm shift in innovation, particularly across several key aspects that influence the effectiveness of the knowledge innovation system, including the interdisciplinary integration, the multi-actor collaboration, the interconnection of facilities and platforms, and the organizational and institutional ecosystem. Thus, it is high time to plan and act proactively to accelerate the construction of a new national innovation system that can systematically support the development of an AI-driven knowledge innovation system and advance the goal of becoming a global leader in science and technology.