Abstract

Artificial intelligence entrepreneurship has increasingly become an important part of urban innovation in the digital economy. At the same time, reducing carbon emissions remains a central issue for sustainable development and carbon neutrality. Using panel data from Chinese cities from 2008 to 2023, this study investigates how AI entrepreneurship influences carbon emission intensity and through which mechanisms this influence occurs. The empirical results reveal a nonlinear inverted U-shaped relationship. At the early stage, the expansion of AI entrepreneurship tends to increase carbon emissions, while after a certain development threshold is reached, AI entrepreneurship begins to contribute to emission reduction. Further mechanism tests show that digital technology innovation strengthens the positive effect on emissions in the early stage because it is associated with higher energy demand. In contrast, fiscal expenditure on science and technology helps reduce emissions in the later stage by supporting green technology development and industrial upgrading. The heterogeneity analysis indicates that this nonlinear effect is more evident in cities with higher levels of industrialization. This study provides city-level evidence for understanding the environmental consequences of AI entrepreneurship and offers policy implications for coordinating digital entrepreneurship with low-carbon development.

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