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Why some noun phrases require the definite article, some don't? They are quite similar in structure. Why do we say "the NYC area", "the English language", but "AI technology", "blockchain technology"? How are latter phrases different from former ones?
My hunch: technology here is a category? Is that the (only) reason?
As far as I can tell, it's because area and language are countable while technology is uncountable.
The phrases NYC area and English language take "the" because the words area and language take "the". The phrases AI technology and blockchain technology don't usually take "the" because the word technology doesn't usually take "the".
The definite article is used to refer to a particular member of a group or class. (See Wikipedia for more on definite and indefinite articles.)
Some might disagree with where the borders are drawn, but there is exactly one NYC area. There are different varieties of English, but they are all part of one English language.
Usually when we talk about AI technology, we are not talking about a single invention. "AI technology" usually refers collectively to all of the inventions, mechanisms, and techniques related to artificial intelligence.
We would only use "the AI technology" if we did intend to talk about a specific type of AI technology in contrast to all of the other AI technologies, such when saying, "neural networks are the AI technology with the most success". (This is just an example; I am not trying to make this claim.)
