The UK’s competition watchdog sniffed around the AI industry with a bit more interest than usual on Thursday at an antitrust event in the US.
Speaking at the 72nd Antitrust Law Spring Meeting in Washington, DC, Sarah Cardell, CEO of the UK Competition and Markets Authority, discussed “growing concerns” that the web of connected partnerships between AI technology companies may hinder competition.
“I think it’s fair to say that when we started this work, we were curious,” said Cardell. “Now, with a deeper understanding and watching developments very closely, we have real concerns.”
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Last September he CMA issued a report on AI foundation models (FM) – the basis for services like ChatGPT – and their impact on consumers and competition.
Seven months on and the CMA now believes that a handful of dominant technology firms – Google, Amazon, Microsoft, Meta and Apple (GAMMA) – may foreclose the possibility of real competition through partnerships, investments, and agreements.
“We are therefore concerned that the largest incumbent technology firms could profoundly shape the development of FM-related markets to the detriment of fair, open and effective competition and ultimately harm businesses and consumers.”
The watchdog’s heightened focus on AI means closer attention to merger reviews and hints at the sorts of issues that will get scrutinized under the UK’s Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Bill.
EC executive vice president Margrethe Vestager echoed Cardell’s remarks by observing the need to keep an eye on AI and the broader technology market.
“Our implementation of AI systems could result in legal liability, regulatory action, brand, reputational, or competitive harm, or other adverse impacts,” Microsoft said in its 10-Q filing in January.
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