Justice Department antitrust chief Jonathan Kanter said the agency is exploring a possible crackdown on leading artificial intelligence firms to make sure fair competition within the tech sector.
The DOJ is actively examining “monopoly choke points and the competitive landscape” in AI, Kanter told the Financial Times.
Officials have raised concerned that tech giants comparable to Microsoft, OpenAI, Google, Amazon and chipmaker Nvidia have relied on their deep pockets to wield massive influence over the burgeoning sector.
Kanter said the DOJ antitrust cops have to act “with urgency” to be sure that the firms can’t dominate the AI market.
“Sometimes essentially the most meaningful intervention is when the intervention is in real time,” Kanter told the outlet. “The great thing about that’s you possibly can be less invasive.”
The DOJ already has lively antitrust lawsuits pending against Google and Apple, though the claims don’t deal directly with the rise of AI. Individually, the Federal Trade Commission has filed cases against Meta and Amazon.
The FTC can also be probing Microsoft’s $13 billion investment in OpenAI, in addition to Google and Amazon’s investments in rising AI firm Anthropic.
Potential areas of recent scrutiny reportedly include the use of information to coach their large-language models – comparable to the one which powers ChatGPT – in addition to implications in cloud-computing, scarce computer chips and even hiring.
Kanter identified that the advanced computer chips required for generative AI, comparable to those manufactured by Nvidia, have turn into a “scarce resource” and his team would examine how chipmaking firms are determining which firms receive the crucial products.
“Certainly one of the things to think through is conflict of interest, a thumb on the dimensions, because they fear enabling a competitor or are helping to prop up a customer,” Kanter said.
Nvidia shares have soared greater than 150% this yr, and the chipmaker surpassed Apple because the second-most useful company on this planet Wednesday — trailing only Microsoft.
Kanter added that potential regulatory issues arise “if decisions are being made that show firms should not caring about maximizing profitability or generating shareholder value, but more the competitive consequences.”
The DOJ can also be expected to probe so-called “acqui-hires,” wherein firms conduct mass hiring from a specific startup moderately than buy it outright and risk antitrust scrutiny.
Individually, the Wall Street Journal reported that the FTC was investigating Microsoft’s move to conduct a mass hiring of staffers from the AI startup Inflection.
The agency is alleged to be exploring how and why Microsoft negotiated the deal, which included an roughly $650 million licensing fee paid to Inflection for the suitable to resell its technology.
Microsoft President Brad Smith defended the deal in a press release to the FT.
“We didn’t wish to own the corporate,” Smith said. “We desired to hire a number of the individuals who worked at the corporate.
Elsewhere, Google has faced scrutiny over its integration of AI features into its core search engine.
Critics, including the News Media Alliance, a nonprofit that represents tons of of stories publishers including The Post, have warned it can decimate traffic for competitors and called on the DOJ and the FTC to scrutinize the AI launch.
Justice Department antitrust chief Jonathan Kanter said the agency is exploring a possible crackdown on leading artificial intelligence firms to make sure fair competition within the tech sector.
The DOJ is actively examining “monopoly choke points and the competitive landscape” in AI, Kanter told the Financial Times.
Officials have raised concerned that tech giants comparable to Microsoft, OpenAI, Google, Amazon and chipmaker Nvidia have relied on their deep pockets to wield massive influence over the burgeoning sector.
Kanter said the DOJ antitrust cops have to act “with urgency” to be sure that the firms can’t dominate the AI market.
“Sometimes essentially the most meaningful intervention is when the intervention is in real time,” Kanter told the outlet. “The great thing about that’s you possibly can be less invasive.”
The DOJ already has lively antitrust lawsuits pending against Google and Apple, though the claims don’t deal directly with the rise of AI. Individually, the Federal Trade Commission has filed cases against Meta and Amazon.
The FTC can also be probing Microsoft’s $13 billion investment in OpenAI, in addition to Google and Amazon’s investments in rising AI firm Anthropic.
Potential areas of recent scrutiny reportedly include the use of information to coach their large-language models – comparable to the one which powers ChatGPT – in addition to implications in cloud-computing, scarce computer chips and even hiring.
Kanter identified that the advanced computer chips required for generative AI, comparable to those manufactured by Nvidia, have turn into a “scarce resource” and his team would examine how chipmaking firms are determining which firms receive the crucial products.
“Certainly one of the things to think through is conflict of interest, a thumb on the dimensions, because they fear enabling a competitor or are helping to prop up a customer,” Kanter said.
Nvidia shares have soared greater than 150% this yr, and the chipmaker surpassed Apple because the second-most useful company on this planet Wednesday — trailing only Microsoft.
Kanter added that potential regulatory issues arise “if decisions are being made that show firms should not caring about maximizing profitability or generating shareholder value, but more the competitive consequences.”
The DOJ can also be expected to probe so-called “acqui-hires,” wherein firms conduct mass hiring from a specific startup moderately than buy it outright and risk antitrust scrutiny.
Individually, the Wall Street Journal reported that the FTC was investigating Microsoft’s move to conduct a mass hiring of staffers from the AI startup Inflection.
The agency is alleged to be exploring how and why Microsoft negotiated the deal, which included an roughly $650 million licensing fee paid to Inflection for the suitable to resell its technology.
Microsoft President Brad Smith defended the deal in a press release to the FT.
“We didn’t wish to own the corporate,” Smith said. “We desired to hire a number of the individuals who worked at the corporate.
Elsewhere, Google has faced scrutiny over its integration of AI features into its core search engine.
Critics, including the News Media Alliance, a nonprofit that represents tons of of stories publishers including The Post, have warned it can decimate traffic for competitors and called on the DOJ and the FTC to scrutinize the AI launch.
