UK's competition watchdog now sets its eyes on the AI Market.
The UK's Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has recently announced it is launching an initial review of AI models in the hopes of better guiding the market towards a free market.
The sudden popularity of generative AI tools like ChatGPT and Midjourney created a market that could upend the way businesses and society operate, drawing the CMA's attention, per Reuters.
CMA AI Model Investigation
The CMA mentioned in its announcement that the UK government had asked regulators such as itself to investigate the current AI models in the market and contemplate how the innovative development and deployment of AI can be supported against five overarching principles.
These principles include safety, security and robustness, appropriate transparency and explainability, fairness, accountability and governance, and contestability and redress.
As such, the CMA is launching an initial review of the AI Market and taking a closer look into AI Models to understand how foundation models are developing, support open, competitive markets. The regulator will also produce an assessment of the conditions and principles that best guides the development of foundation models and their use in the future.
The CMA is taking extra care in its initial review since AI development touches on various important issues, including safety, security, copyright (which the EU is working on), privacy, and human rights. As such, the CMA's investigation aims to answer the question: "what are the likely implications of the development of AI foundation models for competition and consumer protection?"
Sarah Cardell, the CMA's chief executive, mentioned in her statement that AI is "a technology developing at speed and has the potential to transform the way businesses compete as well as drive substantial economic growth," making it necessary to investigate it for the betterment of UK businesses.
The CMA expects to publish a full report of its investigation in September. In the meantime, however, the regulator encourages stakeholders to submit their views and evidence by June 2 and to respond and be proactive in identifying relevant evidence.
Worldwide Investigation Into AI
The Uk and its CMA isn't the only country and regulator looking into the AI craze. A Reuters report mentioned the UK is the latest to investigate the growing AI market and its effects on businesses, particularly those already in it.
The EU is already working on an AI Act to regulate AI technology, which may include new copyright rules for companies using generative AI tools. Meanwhile, the US is looking at possible rules to regulate the technology.
Vice President Kamala Harris is expected to meet up with top AI developers such as Google's parent company, Alphabet, Microsoft, and OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT, on May 5 as part of the Biden administration's efforts to get industries to self-regulate, per Bloomberg.
