Can artificial intelligence improve green economic growth? Evidence from China

Not only has artificial intelligence changed the production methods of traditional industries; it has also presented a great opportunity for future industrial development to decouple from environmental degradation and the promotion of green economic growth. The article studies the influence of artificial intelligence on green economic growth and its mechanism. The research shows that (1) artificial intelligence can promote green economic growth in China. After accounting for spatial factors, it was found that artificial intelligence could promote local green economic growth, but had a siphon effect on neighboring green economic growth. From the perspective of dynamic effects, in the short term, artificial intelligence will not significantly dampen green economic growth in neighboring regions. In the long run, artificial intelligence will have a stronger role in promoting green economic growth, and the siphon effect on neighboring cities will be more significant. (2) As the level of human capital increases, the negative spillover effect of artificial intelligence will be significantly weakened. The promotion effect of artificial intelligence on green economic growth is relatively weak in resource-based cities. (3) Artificial intelligence has obvious attenuation characteristics on the spatial spillover effect of green economic growth, but significant influence is limited to within 200 km. (4) Artificial intelligence has the greatest impact on productivity, accounting for 30.59% in promoting green economic growth. The green innovation effect was 0.0181, accounting for 5.64%. The resource allocation effect is 0.0011, accounting for 3.44%. This paper provides policy enlightenment for promoting industrial intelligence and green economic growth.