Microsoft, OpenAI and Nvidia are under increased scrutiny for their involvement in the artificial intelligence industry as U.S. regulators have reportedly agreed to investigate these companies.
The New York Times reported that the US Department of Justice and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) have reached an agreement to investigate key players in the AI market, with the investigation expected to be completed within the next few days.
The Justice Department will lead an investigation into whether Nvidia, a leading chip maker for AI systems, has violated antitrust laws aimed at promoting fair competition and preventing monopolies, according to Wednesday’s NYT.
Meanwhile, the FTC will scrutinize OpenAI, the developer of the ChatGPT chatbot, and Microsoft, the largest investor in OpenAI and supporter of other AI companies.
The Wall Street Journal also reported on Thursday that the FTC is investigating whether Microsoft structured a recent deal with startup Inflection AI in a way to avoid antitrust scrutiny.
In March, Microsoft hired Mustafa Suleiman, CEO and co-founder of Inflexion, to lead its new AI division and agreed to pay the company $650 million to license its AI software.
The FTC has shown interest in the AI market before, ordering OpenAI, Microsoft, Google parent Alphabet, Amazon, and Anthropic to provide information on recent investments and partnerships involving generative AI companies and cloud service providers.
An investigation into OpenAI was launched last year based on allegations of consumer protection law violations related to personal data and reputations being at risk.
Jonathan Cantor, head of the Justice Department’s antitrust division, stated that the department will “urgently” investigate the AI sector to examine monopoly issues and the competitive landscape in technology.
After newsletter promotion
Regulators like Kantor believe swift action is necessary to prevent tech giants from dominating the AI market.
The FTC, Department of Justice, Nvidia, OpenAI, and Microsoft have been approached for comments.
Source: www.theguardian.com
