Artificial Intelligence Patents and the Sustainable Development Goals: A Comparative Analysis of the United States and China

ABSTRACT Artificial intelligence (AI) is a general‐purpose technology with wide‐ranging implications for sustainable development; yet, little is known about how its innovation trajectories have aligned with the United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). This study examines the sustainability orientation of AI innovation using patents, which serve as early indicators of technological trajectories. A dataset of 180,273 AI patents granted in the United States and China between 2020 and 2024 was classified according to the SDGs using a fine‐tuned language model. The results show convergence in health (SDG 3) and energy (SDG 7), domains identified as globally synergetic, alongside divergence in others: US patents more often address urban, education, and equality‐related goals, whereas Chinese patents emphasize water, environmental sustainability, and governance. These findings demonstrate how global frameworks and national institutions jointly shape the sustainability orientation of AI development.