According to Cointelegraph, the United Kingdom's competition watchdog, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), has warned of a "real risk" that the artificial intelligence (AI) industry could develop in a way that leads to market domination by a few firms and exposes consumers to harmful information.
In a report published on September 18, the CMA examined AI Foundation Models and concluded that while AI has the potential to change how people live and work, these changes may happen quickly and have a significant impact on competition and consumers. The regulator cautioned that in the short term, weak competition or developers' failure to adhere to consumer protection laws could expose consumers to significant levels of false information or AI-enabled fraud.
In the long term, there is a chance that a handful of firms could gain or entrench positions of market power, leading them to not offer the best products or services, or charge high prices. To prevent these outcomes, the CMA proposed several "guiding principles" to ensure consumer protection and healthy competition while allowing full economic benefits. These principles focus on increasing access and transparency, particularly when it comes to preventing firms from gaining advantages by using AI models.
The UK competition regulator plans to publish an update on the principles and their adoption in early 2024, along with insights into further developments in the AI ecosystem. The CMA has already engaged with AI developers and businesses deploying the technology. This is not the first time the UK has cautioned over rapid advances in AI. In June, the British prime minister's AI task force adviser, Matt Clifford, said the technology would need regulation and control within the next two years to curb major existential risks. Additionally, in June, Japan's privacy watchdog warned ChatGPT's parent company OpenAI about its data collection methods.