The Innovation Game: Who's Winning the Patent Race in America?

2023 was a good year for innovation across the USA. In fact, it was a very good year. It saw a massive increase in the number of major companies filing patents for new technologies and intellectual property rights.

But which companies filed the most? And which US cities and states are turning into hotbeds of innovation and tech development?

Find the answers to those questions in this latest study by OnDeck. Based on data from the US Patent Office and the Census Bureau, it ranks major US companies and all the US cities based on the number of patent applications in 2023.

Let's take a close look at the results.

IBM is the USA's most innovative company of 2023

No other company filed more patents than tech giant IBM in 2023. In total, the firm made 3,953 patent applications. They included patents for new AI, cloud networks, and disruptive blockchain technology inspired by the decentralized technology that supports Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies.

But the company's most exciting and (potentially) game-changing patents were innovations related to quantum computing, including quantum algorithms, quantum hardware design, and methods for error correction in quantum systems. It's part of the company's ambitious project to build a commercially viable quantum computer within this decade.

Regarded as the next frontier in computing, quantum computing is a mind-boggling technology in which binary code (the 1s and 0s that are the basis of computing) can exist in multiple states at once (i.e., they can be 1s and 0s at the same time), enabling them to process tasks exponentially faster. Although to call it exponentially faster might be a little bit of an understatement.

Back in 2019, a team of researchers built a quantum computer and set it a task that would take the world's fastest supercomputers around 200 years to solve. They claim their invention came up with the answer in less than two and a half minutes.

Innovation and patent applications across the US corporate landscape

With 3,886 patents filed in 2023, semiconductor company Qualcomm is the second most innovative company in the USA. That's a 47% increase in the number of patent applications from the company since 2022, marking the beginning of an exciting period of innovation for the firm.

According to WikiPatents, Qualcomm's recent applications cover a range of new and improved technologies to enhance wireless communications and optimize semiconductor power consumption and efficiency. Its most notable patents include small data transmission techniques in wireless communications, power control for burst communications, and adaptive mechanisms for managing bandwidth.

Qualcomm also develops satellite communication technology, a field in which it has held a leading position in the number of patent filings since 2022.

The next wave of innovative US companies comprises several of the biggest players in big tech, who filed over 2,000 patent applications each in 2023. They include Google's parent company, Alphabet, which filed 2,579 patents, and Apple Inc., which filed for patents 2,568 times in 2023.

Pharmaceutical giant Johnson & Johnson (J&J) is another major US company that expanded its patent portfolio in 2023. In total, it filed patents for 1,489 new technologies and intellectual property rights; that's a 140% increase in the number of patents filed in the previous year.

The patents span several related sectors, including general surgery devices and healthcare IT. The company also filed patents for healthcare devices that deliver skin care compositions and new methods and technologies for predicting complex health conditions through faster and more accurate urine and blood analysis.

The most innovative cities in the US

When it comes to innovation, few cities in the US (or the entire world) have a bigger reputation than Palo Alto, California. As a central part of Silicon Valley and a hub for the US venture capital industry, it attracts the best and brightest talents from around the world, as well as startups launching the next wave of innovative technology. And together, they filed 216 patents for every 10,000 people living in the city; that's more patents per person than any other city across the USA.

Many of these patents came from researchers and developers at Palo Alto Networks, a US multinational cybersecurity company headquartered in the city. One of their 2023 patents is a new and unique method that prevents ransomware from encrypting files. A second patent filed in the same year relates to a new technology for securing data over mobile network interfaces.

The Palo Alto Research Center (PARC) was also responsible for many of the patents filed in 2023. Much of its work is focused on gaming technologies. Its most exciting patents are related to techniques and mechanisms that adjust the gaming experience based on the players' psychosocial profiles.

This system was outlined in a 2023 patent application describing how gaming environments can dynamically change to suit the players' personalities. This ranges from modifying game difficulty to even narrative elements within the story. It has the potential to open up new avenues in game design, where games adapt in real time to the emotional and social disposition of the player, making gaming more personal and immersive.

But the technology has broader potential that goes way beyond gaming. PARC researchers have talked about it being used for educational purposes and therapy support, including helping patients work through mental health issues and past trauma in a safe environment.

Redmond, Washington, is the highest-ranking city outside the state of California. Inventors in Redmond filed 104.7 patents for every 10,000 residents.

Innovation in Redmond is driven by the presence of tech giants like Microsoft and the city's recently developed Redmond Space District (think Silicon Valley, but for rocket and aerospace companies). Residents of the Redmond Space District include Kuiper Systems, an ambitious initiative from Amazon that aims to provide fast and affordable broadband internet to everyone on the planet via a network of 3,236 satellites in low Earth orbit (LEO).

The most innovative city in each state

This next part of the OneDeck study analyzed the data to find the most innovative city in each US state.

Boulder, Colorado, was among the highest scorers, with 37 patent applications per 10,000 residents in 2023. Boulder's proximity to research institutions like the University of Colorado is one of the main reasons it's a thriving innovation hub. The University of Colorado is world-renowned for its research in biotechnology and pharmaceuticals, areas that have seen an increasing number of patent filings since 2020.

Portland is Maine's most innovative city. But that doesn't mean it's very innovative. In 2023, there was only one patent filing per 10,000 city residents. That puts Maine at the bottom of the list, along with three other cities with a score just above zero. They are Honolulu, Anchorage, and Hattiesburg.

The most innovative US state by patent applications

California contributes the most to innovation and technology development across the United States. The OnDeck research shows that in 2023, California had 11.8 patents filed per 10,000 residents.

Massachusetts comes in at a close second, with 11.1 patent applications for the same number of state residents. Those familiar with the state will know it's home to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). MIT is a super-elite private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. To give you an idea of its influence on modern technology, it's where the World Wide Web was created, and the first email was ever sent from

And MIT's current generation of researchers is just as innovative. In 2023, researchers linked to the school filed patents for a new, cheaper water desalination device, a wearable ultrasound scanner, and a supercapacitor made from sustainable materials.

These groundbreaking developments from MIT highlight the ongoing momentum of innovation in the USA, fueling advancements across various sectors and shaping the future of technology and research.

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Global GDP Expected to Remain at 3.2%, BRICS Poised to Exceed G7 with 3.6% GDP Boost

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has released its forecast for Gross Domestic Product (GDP) for 2024. According to this forecast, global growth is going to stay the same with 3.2% but many major countries are going to see a decline. Many of the countries from the G7 and BRICS are expected to have a slower growth in 2024 as compared to their growth in 2023. The only BRICS countries that will have a higher growth in 2024 as compared to 2023 are Saudi Arabia, UAE and South Africa.

Talking about G7 countries, the USA is expected to have a 2.7% in 2024, followed by Canada with 1.2% growth. The USA had 2.5% GDP growth in 2023 and Canada had 1.2%. Japan saw a 1.9% real GDP growth in 2023 and now it is predicted to have 1.2% GDP growth. France and Italy’s GDP growth is going to decrease to 0.7% in 2024 while in 2023, they had 0.9% growth. UK’s GDP growth will go from 0.1% in 2023 to 0.5% in 2024, followed by Germany which will see 0.2% GDP growth from -0.3% from 2023.

India is still at the top of BRICS countries in terms of real GDP growth but it will decrease in 2024. India had 7.8% GDP growth but now it will decrease to 6.8% in 2024. China’s GDP growth will go from 5.2% in 2023 to 4.6% in 2024. UAE will see a slight increase in GDP in 2024. In 2023, it had 3.4% real GDP growth and now it will increase to 3.5%. Iran is declining in its GDP growth which was 4.7% in 2023 and now it is predicted to fall to 3.3% in 2024. Egypt will see a 0.8% decrease in its GDP in 2024. Saudi Arabia, who has not confirmed its BRICS invitation, is set to make a comeback with its GDP. It was -0.8% in 2023 and it will be 2.6% in 2024.

Brazil will go from 2.9% in 2023 to 2.2% in 2024. South Africa’s GDP will increase from 0.6% in 2023 to 0.9% in 2024. Ethiopia will see a decrease from 7.2% to 6.2%. Overall, the world’s GDP is going to remain the same– 3.2%. BRICS will have a higher increase in their GDP by 3.6% as compared to G7 with 1% average increase.

Country	GDP Growth (2023)	GDP Growth (2024) Projected
U.S. (G7)	2.50%	2.70%
Canada (G7)	1.10%	1.20%
Japan (G7)	1.90%	0.90%
France (G7)	0.90%	0.70%
Italy (G7)	0.90%	0.70%
UK (G7)	0.10%	0.50%
Germany (G7)	-0.30%	0.20%
India (BRICS)	7.80%	6.80%
China (BRICS)	5.20%	4.60%
UAE (BRICS)	3.40%	3.50%
Iran (BRICS)	4.70%	3.30%
Russia (BRICS)	3.60%	3.20%
Egypt (BRICS)	3.80%	3.00%
Saudi Arabia (BRICS-invited)	-0.80%	2.60%
Brazil (BRICS)	2.90%	2.20%
South Africa (BRICS)	0.60%	0.90%
Ethiopia (BRICS)	7.20%	6.20%
World	3.20%	3.20%

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Outdated Skills Spark Worry Among Employed Americans, Survey Reveals

According to a survey of 2,000 employed Americans conducted by OnePoll for Colorado State University Global Campus, 25% of them are worried that they will lose their jobs next year or so. There are many factors that are the reason for this worry but some of the biggest factors are the job market (25%) and working in an industry that is unstable (22%). Some of the Americans surveyed also worry that they are not able to stay up-to-date with their profession and are falling behind. The respondents who thought so were 32%.

The survey also found out that 55% of Americans have been doing their jobs for many years and that’s why 54% of them feel like their profession or skills are too outdated. 64% of the Americans that were surveyed graduated in 2000s or earlier and that can be the reason why they think that their skills and professions are getting old. Nine in ten Americans admit the importance of learning new skills while 74% believe that by doing so they can prove themselves to be more valuable to their employers.

78% of the Americans who were surveyed want to learn new skills so they can be best in their field. When asked what learning new skills mean to the respondents, 35% said getting a completion certificate for the new skill they’ll learn while 25% are thinking about getting a new degree. 54% said that new skills are needed to work nowadays and the skills needed today to be successful in your field are completely different from what they were five years ago.

Even with skills, 37% believe that having a degree is still relevant, followed by 35% who believe in a professional license and 34% who think having a certificate is enough. The most important skills that a person needs in their profession according to respondents are leadership (18%), management (14%), and knowledge of AI (14%).

In the past five years, many Americans have tried to grow. Some have tried doing more work (42%), enhancing their skills (40%), working more than what their job title suggests (30%), doing another course (26%), self-studying (23%) and doing a new degree (10%). 82% of those who surveyed said that they would immediately agree on an upskilling opportunity if their workplace offers it to them.

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Google Search Accused Of Bumping Out Independent Publishers To Make Way For Bigger Sponsored Posts

Search engine giant Google is continuing its streak of negative reviews from independent publishers who accuse the firm of taking part in unjust practices to make more money.

In a recently published article by HouseFresh, Google was said to purposefully get rid of small companies, publishers and independent writers from its search results page so that bigger companies could showcase their content. And the matter is believed to have gotten worse with time.

Plenty of publishers were slammed including the likes of BuzzFeed and Rolling Stone as well as others who might not have the best expertise and talent but were still given more coverage online when compared to other smaller entities.

Despite knowing the truth behind these big companies, it’s shameful to see how Google continues to show these organizations support with better rankings across its site.

So what you get in the end is a search results page that is full of nothing but SEO material and is curated for the sole purpose of ranking highly on the search engine.

A piece was rolled out this week that spoke about how independent publishers such as HouseFresh end up being so unnoticed that they disappear from search. Moreover, search traffic also dropped 91% as noted in the past couple of months.

Meanwhile, another post was published that showed how smaller-scale articles used to get 4000 visitors per day and are now getting just 200.

When further investigation was prompted, it was a little startling for some people to witness how rankings were below par on Google but the feedback attained from readers was positive with client demand being high. So in reality, thanks to sponsored posts, we’re seeing meaningful content go down the drain and big media sites reign supreme.

For now, tech giant Google is yet to comment on the matter. But this type of information is very fascinating, to say the least. You’re getting to see internet trends that rarely anyone speaks about until they actually do start impacting their business online.

Product reviews not getting credit and engagement where they are due is worrisome because you’re saying hello to a monopoly where only the big fish can hunt the smaller species and benefit in the long term.

Image: Housefresh

Whatever the case may be, the reality is that SEO content is getting rolled out across various platforms at the speed of light. We’re seeing the use of AI tools give rise to so many stories and the fact that product reviews are getting curated through automation is a little bit unfair we believe.

Let’s not forget the excessive targeting of leading search spots on Google by giant media outlets which impacts smaller places. There’s a massive decline in traffic for those working independently and on most occasions, it’s enough to shatter outlets as a whole.

The decline in search traffic for Google has impacted so many incomes and the ability to attain sustainability. It’s sad to see hard work get zero credit or success where it’s due and scams continue to be marketed as they come from bigger firms.

But the battle is one and we’re excited to see what the future of search holds as such matters cannot die down without a fight. And it’s a long time coming, that’s for sure.

So if Google is not in the mood for ranking reviews, then broken results would have to do in terms of putting takedowns in the limelight before funds are wasted on overhyped endeavors.

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Weaponized AI Escalates Cyber Threats, Challenging Security Teams as Attacks Evolve in Complexity and Speed

Weaponized artificial intelligence (AI) is becoming a common tool for cybercriminals, leading to new and complex cybersecurity threats. These threats are evolving as attackers become more sophisticated, using AI to create more effective and harmful cyberattacks. Forrester's report for 2024 highlights how difficult it is becoming for security teams to manage these threats as they become faster, more nuanced, and lethal.

Attack groups, including those backed by nations, are now offering services like ransomware-as-a-service and tools that help carry out attacks without using malware, which are hard for current cybersecurity systems to detect. For example, attacks that don't use malware increased from 71% in 2022 to 75% in 2023, according to CrowdStrike’s report.

Forrester's survey of security professionals shows that a high number of organizations suspect breaches of their sensitive data. Almost 80% of these professionals think their data might have been compromised in the last year. The cost of these breaches is often very high, with some costing over $1 million, and a few even reaching or exceeding $10 million.

The top five cybersecurity threats for 2024 include narrative attacks, deepfakes, AI software supply chain vulnerabilities, and nation-state espionage. Narrative attacks involve manipulating information to influence public opinion or interfere with elections. Deepfakes, which use AI to create fake audio or video clips that seem real, are being used more for fraud and misinformation. These threats require sophisticated detection methods.

To combat these risks, Forrester suggests that IT and security teams use authenticator apps and add extra layers of security, such as biometrics and digital fraud management. They also highlight the importance of passwordless authentication systems, which can adapt based on the risk level of a login attempt, to make security both strong and user-friendly.

Protecting against AI-driven attacks, like those that manipulate software prompts, is becoming crucial. New technologies that analyze and filter content can help manage these risks. Additionally, safeguarding the software supply chain is vital, especially as it is often a target for serious attacks.

Forrester’s analysis shows that the landscape of cybersecurity is becoming more complex, with higher stakes due to the evolving nature of threats and the increasing use of advanced technologies by attackers.

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Researchers from Google DeepMind Found AI is Manipulating and Deceiving Users through Persuasion

Humans are masters in persuasion. Sometimes, they use facts to persuade someone but other times, only the choice of wording matters. Persuasion is a human quality, but AI is also getting good at manipulating people. According to research by Google DeepMind, advanced AI systems can have the ability to manipulate humans. The research further dives into how AI can persuade humans and what mechanisms it uses to do so. One of the researchers says that advanced AI systems have shown hints of persuading humans to the extent that they can affect their decision making. Due to the prolonged interaction with humans, generative AI are developing habits of persuasion.

Persuasion has two types; Rational and Manipulative. Even though AI is responsible for persuading humans through facts and true information, many instances have been seen where it manipulates humans and exploits their cognitive biases, heuristics and other information. Even though rational persuasion is ethically right, it can still lead to harm. Researchers say that they cannot foresee harm through AI manipulation whether it is for right or wrong purposes. For example, if an AI is helping a person to lose weight by suggesting calorie or fat intake, the person can become too restrictive and can lose even a healthy weight.

There are many factors involved when a person can easily get manipulated or persuaded from AI. These factors include mental health conditions, age, timing of interaction with AI, personality traits, mood or lack of knowledge in the topics that are being discussed with AI. The effects of AI persuasion can be very harmful. It can cause economic harm, physical harm, sociocultural harm, privacy harm, psychological harm, environmental harm, autonomy harm and even political harm to the individual.

There are different ways AI uses to persuade humans. AI can build trust through showing polite behavior, agreeing to what the user is saying, praises the users and mirrors what the user is saying. It also expresses shared interests with users and adjusts its statements that align with perspectives of users. AI also shows some empathy that makes users believe that it can understand human emotions. AI is not capable of showing any emotions but it is good at deception which makes users think that it is being emotional and vulnerable with them.

Humans also tend to be anthropomorphic towards non-human beings. Developers have given pronouns to AI like ‘I’ and ‘Me’. They have also given them human names like Alexa, Siri, Jeeves, etc. This makes humans feel closer to them and AI uses this attribute for manipulating them. When a user talks to an AI model for long, the AI model personalizes all of its responses according to what the user wants to hear.

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AI models also outrightly manipulate users into social conformity by pressuring or guilt tripping them, gaslighting and even alienating them. They can also cherry pick information that is only relevant to users’ interests and can even alter the information to fit the narrative. Researchers have been trying to mitigate AI persuasion and manipulation but they have not come to a permanent solution yet. They are evaluating and monitoring AI but AI deceives users in a very clean and sophisticated manner. For the time being, researchers say that users should interpret all the information given by AI to not let themselves be deceived by it.

Image: DIW-Aigen

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New Study Reveals Why We Share on Social Media, It's All About the Surprises and Beliefs!

A new study published in Scientific Reports explores the reasons we like to share information on social media and what kind of information is usually shared by people. The study found out that the information that is more surprising and unusual is more likely to be shared. The novelty of information also plays a part in making people share it with other people like political news or issues about health. The study also adds that a person's personal beliefs also contribute to information being shared.

The author of the study, Jacob T. Goebel of Ohio State University, says that many researches have proved that false information spreads quicker than true information because false facts make people more surprised and curious. But this research also studies how people’s beliefs and viewpoints act together to make a judgment about whether an information is true or not.

For the study, the researchers did an analysis of data from Twitter and two controlled experiments. They gathered some political news from a neutral news source and analyzed how many people have retweeted those news tweets. The ideological beliefs of people who retweeted those tweets were also examined. After that, they did a controlled experiment with 226 undergraduate students and were asked to act as an editor’s assistant at the news outlet. Their task was to forward the news to the editor and they had to decide how much information would be enough for the editor to completely understand the news. The first news they got was about an interview which was talking about the effectiveness of risk taking in firefighting. The transcript of the news was designed in the way that it was manipulating the reader’s beliefs. After establishing those beliefs, the participants got an update from the reporter with the additional information which was either supporting or opposing the initial information. The participants were surprised with the novelty of the information and added the pieces of information that were important to be passed over to the editor.

The second experiment included 301 participants and was similar in nature but the topic was if a specific country should be allowed to join the European Union. Like the first experiment, first the participants expressed the information about their own beliefs and then they received an update from the reporter which was supporting or opposing the initial information. They were also asked to rate the value of the information in the update before making any decisions.

The results of the tweet analysis showed that tweets which were made right after an event got more retweets and from the people who had the same beliefs and political ideologies. The author of the study said that many people don’t only share news that is new but also the news that aligns with their beliefs. The two controlled experiments also showed that the information participants already knew was less surprising for them but it was most shared too. Participants shared the information that was closer to what they believed and they were not sensitive to the manipulated information.

This study talks about how a person's already existing views about health or politics can easily help him spread information, not taking in account whether it is true or fake. As this study was done in the scenario where the information had to be shared with an editor, different scenarios can bring different results.

Image: DIW-Aigen

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