UK competition regulator signs AI agreement with EU and US counterparts

The UK’s competition regulator has signed a joint statement with EU and US counterparts committing to work together to protect competition and the public from the rise of AI.

The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) said it and its overseas partners agree that while AI technologies had the potential to spark growth and innovation, it also posed risks to consumers and fair competition that would need action if they arose.

The competition regulators and agencies have agreed to share information and understanding on issues that arise in key areas of AI, and will use their individual powers to address potential risks, such as the potential for the biggest AI and tech firms to entrench or extend their existing market power in the AI space – something the CMA is already examining.

Alongside the CMA, the statement has been signed by the European Commission , the US Federal Trade Commission and the US Department of Justice.

Sarah Cardell, CMA chief executive, said: “AI is a borderless technology which has the potential to drive innovation and growth, delivering transformative benefits for people, businesses, and economies around the world.

“That’s why we’ve come together with our EU and US partners to set out our commitment to help ensure fair, open and effective competition in AI drives growth and positive change for our societies.”

Last week, the CMA confirmed that it launching an initial investigation into Microsoft’s hiring of senior figures from start-up Inflection AI, having previously raised concerns about close partnerships between firms in the AI sector.

Earlier this year, the watchdog published a report raising concerns about the potential risks to open, fair and effective competition in the AI market.

The report specifically identified what it called an “interconnected web” of more than 90 partnerships and strategic investments between a small handful of the biggest tech and AI firms, a set-up it warned could be used to consolidate power and resources within the sector.

The competition watchdog then asked for views from interested parties on the partnerships, including those between Microsoft and Mistral AI, Amazon and Anthropic, and Microsoft’s links to Inflection.

Amazon has invested around four billion dollars (£3.2 billion) in Anthropic as it looks to gain an advantage in the AI race, while Microsoft announced a multi-year partnership with French AI start-up Mistral earlier this year, which is reported to include investment of around £13 million.

Microsoft is also the biggest investor in ChatGPT maker OpenAI, while Apple has signed into partnership with OpenAI to embed ChatGPT into future versions of the iPhone as part of its Apple Intelligence scheme to bring more generative AI tools to its products.

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