The article “Breaking in or breaking through? How local specialisations shape the integration of AI technologies” by Matheus Leusin, Bj?rn Jindra, and Daniel S. Hain investigates how national innovation systems incorporate Artificial Intelligence (AI) into their technological structures. Using global patent data from 1974–2018 for the world’s leading AI economies (China, Japan, South Korea, and the USA), the authors develop a novel framework distinguishing between two modes of technological integration: “break-in” trajectories, where AI is anchored to a country’s existing industrial strengths, and “break-through” trajectories, where national AI specialisations follow global technology patterns independently of domestic capabilities. The results reveal that enduring AI leadership predominantly emerges from “break-in” pathways, in which new technologies become hybridised with established knowledge bases. The study conceptualises AI as a “recombinant bridge” that fuses local competencies with global digital advances, highlighting how these dynamics can generate “hybrid giants” dominating multiple sectors.

The findings provide new insights into the evolutionary mechanisms underlying technological transformation and suggest that effective AI policies should follow a smart-specialisation approach, fostering synergy between core AI competencies and distinctive national strengths.

The link to the study is: https://doi.org/10.1080/10438599.2025.2558626