Crossword Genius

Many countries like backing Artificial Intelligence (4)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

asia

'many countries' is the definition.
(Asia contains many countries)

'like backing artificial intelligence' is the wordplay.
'like' becomes 'as'.
'backing' is a reversal indicator.
'artificial intelligence' becomes 'AI' (synonyms).
'ai' back-to-front is 'ia'.
'as'+'ia'='ASIA'

(Other definitions for asia that I've seen before include "Put out" , "One-third of all land" , "Stretch of land" , "Largest land-mass" , "Huge landmass" .)

I've seen this clue in The Independent.
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