Four regulatory bodies from the EU, the UK and the US have published a joint statement of intent to study whether the AI industry allows for sufficient competition. The four groups are the European Commission, the UK Competition and Markets Authority, the US Department of Justice and the US Federal Trade Commission.
The statement does not suggest any general regulation or the creation of a new regulatory body.
“Our decisions will always be sovereign and independent,” the statement said. However, the organisations say some cooperation is important because the risks arising from the AI industry “do not respect international borders.”
What does the joint declaration say?
The statement seeks to prevent risks to competition, such as the consolidation of existing AI companies in ecosystems, increased barriers to entry, or a lack of choice among buyers. The wording of the statement also leaves room for more existential risks: “AI may be developed or used in ways that harm consumers, businesses, or other market participants.”
Other challenges in the AI industry include limited access to chips and tight collaborations between key players. Regarding the latter, the CMA has until September to decide whether to investigate the transfer of key talent from Inflection AI to Microsoft.
The joint statement, which is not tied to any specific research or AI company, suggests that these challenges can be solved by following certain agreed principles:
- “Fair treatment” (as opposed to “exclusionary tactics”).
- Interoperability.
- Choice.
“AI is a borderless technology that has the potential to drive innovation and growth, delivering transformative benefits for people, businesses and economies around the world,” said CMA CEO Sarah Cardell in a press release. “That’s why we’ve joined our EU and US partners in setting out our commitment to help ensure that fair, open and effective competition in AI drives growth and positive change for our societies.”
SEE: Search engines are the hottest new field in which AI companies are competing.
What does the join statement mean for businesses?
The joint statement is part of ongoing maneuvering between governments and the burgeoning AI industry. Meta has suspended the launch of multimodal AI products in the EU due to what Facebook’s parent company characterizes as a lack of clarity from the EU regarding GDPR privacy rules, Axios reported on July 17.
At the same time, the European Commission is investigating some of the world’s largest technology companies for using “access control” software under the Digital Markets Act.
The European Union's Artificial Intelligence Act will go into effect on August 1, providing tools for startups and requiring companies to assign AI systems a risk level and disclose AI-generated content.
The companies that will likely be most affected will be those using AI products in the EU or the big AI manufacturers. The broader question, however, is whether both groups can strike a balance between protecting users’ privacy (especially in the case of photorealistic AI images that could spread misinformation) and allowing new companies the chance to disrupt the sector.
