McGuireWoods London partner Matthew Hall commented on competition concerns about the artificial intelligence market, for a Sept. 18, 2023, Global Competition Review article.
The article discussed a set of guiding principles the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) released as an early means of governing AI models to promote strong market competition and protect consumers. In the same report, CMA weighed the likelihood that a few large technology companies and early market entrants could have an advantage over later, smaller market participants.
Hall, an experienced antitrust/competition lawyer, told GCR that “it is not yet evident that these new models present a ‘problem.’ ” The article explained that even the CMA report noted that since 2018, about 160 new AI models have been released — by new and often small firms as well as established ones. Given the availability of funding, Hall said, “there will no doubt be many more.”
For now, issues may be “something for the market to sort out, underpinned by existing competition and consumer law rules,” he added.