University-Industry Knowledge Transfer and the Godfathers of Artificial Intelligence

Researchers, students and their industrial partners invite you to discover and discuss their 4POINT0 projects.

Join us on October 20, 2022 for highlights of our 4POINT0 partner's research findings with researcher Margaret Dalziel (University of Waterloo - Conrad School of Entrepreneurship and Business) and her student Xiao (Mimosa) Zhao (University of Toronto).

Abstract

University-industry knowledge transfer powers innovation. We consider the case of the godfathers of artificial intelligence and examine the factors that affect the ability of private technology developers to absorb and build upon their research. Using patent citations to godfather research as an indicator of knowledge transfer, we find strong effects where inventors were former co-inventors or co-authors of the godfathers, and that the emergence of deep learning shifts the locus of technological advancement from universities to large corporations.