China Slips to Second Tier as Global AI Leadership Hangs in the Balance

FOR RELEASE: September 16, 2024

Contact: Richard T. Kaplar
The Media Institute
703-506-8030

Vienna, Va., September 16, 2024 – The United States continues to rank as the top country in the global broadband Internet ecosystem, followed by South Korea and the Netherlands, according to a major new study released today by The Media Institute’s Digital Media Center.

Net Vitality 3.0: Identifying the Top-Tier Global Broadband Internet Ecosystem Leaders is authored by respected researcher and professor Stuart N. Brotman, who serves as Digital Media Laureate and a Distinguished Senior Fellow at The Media Institute.

The second-tier countries of Net Vitality 3.0 are Denmark, Singapore, Finland, and China, in that order.  China previously ranked as a top-tier country.

“Net Vitality” is a concept Brotman developed to measure the long-term vibrancy of the broadband Internet ecosystem in countries around the world.  Net Vitality 3.0, which can be viewed here, is the latest in a series begun in 2015 with the first Net Vitality study and then updated in 2018 with Net Vitality 2.0.

At the core of these studies is the unique “Net Vitality Index,” which provides a holistic view of global broadband Internet development by emphasizing the three interrelated pillars first identified in the 2010 U.S. National Broadband Plan.

These three pillars are: (1) applications and content; (2) devices; and (3) networks.  The Net Vitality Index also measures a fourth key criterion: broadband innovation and competitiveness indicators.  All of these are the foundations that are the basis for our dynamic Internet experience, which is critical to virtually all activities of daily life.

“The rapid development of Artificial Intelligence, including generative AI, in recent years underscores how important the broadband Internet ecosystem is for AI’s meteoric growth and increasing use,” notes Brotman.  “Everyone following the future of AI also should be focusing on vital aspects of Internet infrastructure, since the two are highly dependent on each other for long-term success.”

The Institute’s Digital Media Center is a program that brings clarity to key issues at the heart of today’s digital revolution.  Brotman coordinates the Center’s program activities.

The Media Institute is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization specializing in communications policy and the First Amendment.  Visit the Institute at www.mediainstitute.org.

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