Radical Novelties in Critical Technologies: How do China, the US and the EU fare?
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| Alicia García Herrero | |
| Monday 4 May 2026 at 10:30 am - 12:00 pm (Hong Kong time, GMT +8) | |
|
Zoom (https://hkust.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_lK5Xg-3FRV-7gc65uI33PQ) |
Technological innovation has moved beyond simple economic competition; it is now the primary engine of strategic power. This battle is currently concentrated in three critical, interconnected fields: artificial intelligence (AI), semiconductors, and quantum computing. Advances in one often unlock new capabilities in the others, meaning leadership in this triad largely dictates global influence.
Traditional metrics like patent counts or R&D spending are often misleading. They can be inflated by incremental improvements or strategic filing behaviors that do not reflect true innovation. To get a more accurate picture, we used a Large Language Model (LLM) to analyze patents from the major US, European, and international offices (USPTO, EPO, and PCT) filed between 2019 and 2023. We specifically looked for radical novelties—innovations that appeared for the first time in our dataset (dating back to 1979) and were subsequently replicated in at least five other patents. This method filters out the noise and highlights the genuine breakthroughs that shape the future.
About the speaker
Alicia García Herrero is Adjunct Professor at the Hong Kong University of Science. Alicia also serves as a Senior Fellow at the Brussels-based European think-tank BRUEGEL and as Chief Economist for Asia Pacific at French investment bank NATIXIS. She is a non-resident Senior Follow at the East Asian Institute (EAI) of the National University Singapore (NUS) as well as at the Institute of Chinese Studies in Delhi. She is also a non-Executive Board member of listed-insurance group, AGEAS. Finally, Alicia is a Member of the Council of Advisors on Economic Affairs to the Spanish Government and an advisor to the Hong Kong Monetary Authority’s research arm (HKIMR).
Alicia holds a PhD in Economics from George Washington University and has published extensively in refereed journals and books. She is also very active in international media.
Registration
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