Human Capital-AI Coupling in Chinese Cities: A Tale of Two Trajectories

The coupling of human capital and artificial intelligence (AI) is increasingly recognized as a key driver of urban development. This study analyzes the spatial heterogeneity of this coupling effect across Chinese cities of different tiers. Our findings indicate that first-tier cities like Beijing, Shanghai, Guangdong, and Shenzhen have witnessed a significantly faster development of human capital-AI coupling compared to other cities. This growth has particularly accelerated since 2015, leading to a widening gap with other city tiers. By 2019, these leading cities achieved a coupling value of 0.69, signifying effective and coordinated development. While new first-tier and second-tier cities demonstrate an upward trend in human capital-AI coupling, their growth trajectory remains slower than that of first-tier cities, especially after 2015. Finally, third-tier, fourth-tier, and fifth-tier cities exhibit a low degree of human capital-AI coupling despite slight improvements in both areas. These findings highlight the uneven development of human capital-AI synergy across China's urban hierarchy and call for tailored policies to bridge the digital divide.