UK watchdog worries about tech giants’ AI market control

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The UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has raised worries about Big Tech’s growing influence in the cutting-edge artificial intelligence (AI) industry. According to CMA CEO Sarah Cardell, there are genuine reasons for concern regarding the sector’s progression.

In a recent paper published on April 11, the Computing Community Consortium (CMA) pointed out the growing interdependence and dominance among innovators in the advanced technology industry. This trend is contributing significantly to the development of sophisticated AI models capable of generating content.

The report issued by the CMA brings attention to the significant role played by Google, Amazon, Microsoft, Meta, and Apple (referred to as GAMMA) in different stages of the artificial intelligence industry’s worthwhile process.

The regulatory body recognizes the advantages of collaborations in the technology sector. However, they issued a warning about the potential threats from powerful partnerships and merged companies. These entities could limit competition in free markets.

The CMA expressed worry about the development of foundational models in the AI field, which heavily rely on vast data and computational power, potentially leading to unwanted consequences in the market.

companies holding monopolies over essential resources for creating AI models, tech behemoths using their market dominance to sway decisions in GenAI services, and strategic alliances that could strengthen market power throughout the entire value chain.

At a law conference in Washington D.C. concerning generative AI, Cardell brought up the “dominant player” tendencies, similar to past eras of web development.

Cardell suggested that regulators be cautious not to repeat past errors while supervising the upcoming digital advancement.

“By stepping up our merger review, we hope to gain more clarity over which types of partnerships and arrangements may fall within the merger rules and under what circumstances competition concerns may arise — and that clarity will also benefit the businesses themselves,”

In simpler terms, the CMA’s updated report highlights potential issues with FM partnerships, such as one partner having significant control over the AI data used in the collaboration, and another partner having a strong influence on the distribution network.

In May 2021, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) began investigating the fast-growing market for advanced AI technology. They published a series of guidelines for creating “ethical” AI systems based on these principles. These guidelines will help guide the CMA’s oversight as the high-end AI industry continues to advance.

After that intervention from the regulatory body, the relationship between OpenAI, the innovator behind ChatGPT, and Microsoft, a major investor in OpenAI, has come under scrutiny. The regulator’s recent report acknowledges the fast-evolving nature of the market.

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2024-04-12 12:19