US Antitrust Chief Launches Investigation into AI Monopoly Risks

US Antitrust Chief Launches Investigation into AI Monopoly Concerns
Harvey Hunter
Published:
June 6, 2024 07:59 EDT
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2 min read
Jonathan Kanter, the US Antitrust Enforcer, has emphasized the critical need for regulators to thoroughly investigate the AI sector in order to prevent potential monopolies.
In a report by the Financial Times, Kanter stated that he is closely examining “monopoly choke points and the competitive landscape” within the realm of AI.
These choke points include factors such as computing power, data utilized for training large language models (LLMs), cloud service providers, engineering talent, and hardware.
Kanter has urged the AI sector to take immediate action to ensure that current dominant technology companies do not establish sole market control. He expressed regulators’ concerns that AI is currently at a peak of competition rather than a low point.
Kanter suggested that real-time intervention could be the most effective approach. “The beauty of that is you can be less invasive,” he added.
US Officials Aim to Prevent AI Monopoly
Kanter highlighted the fact that graphics processing units (GPUs) have become a “scarce resource,” particularly in the training of LLMs in AI.
Nvidia currently holds a dominant position in the sales of advanced GPUs. Following the release of its first-quarter earnings report on May 23, Nvidia’s revenue surged by 262% compared to the previous year.
After the report’s publication, the company’s stock prices reached a new all-time high of $1,007, pushing its valuation above $2.5 trillion.
Kanter also mentioned existing government efforts to boost production, such as the 2022 Chips and Science Act, which provides $39 billion in subsidies for chip manufacturing in the US.
However, he added that antitrust regulators are monitoring how chipmakers allocate their most advanced products amidst high demand.
He cautioned that prioritizing competitive outcomes over profitability and shareholder value could lead to an AI monopoly.
Since the launch of OpenAI’s ChatGPT in November 2022, companies have been racing to secure multi-billion dollar partnerships with leading AI firms and those developing models and applications based on the technology.
In particular, Microsoft has made significant investments in OpenAI, acquiring rights to its intellectual property and profits, while Amazon has struck multi-billion deals with competitor Anthropic.
Crypto-AI Firms Spearhead the Movement
In response, emerging AI-focused platforms are working to develop decentralized AI technology on the blockchain. This has led to the emergence of several promising AI-based cryptocurrencies, contributing to a market cap of over $38.7 billion.
One notable development is the ongoing merger of SingularityNET, Fetch.ai, and Ocean Protocol tokens into ASI. This move is said to “represent the largest open-sourced, decentralized network focused on the AI industry.”
Under this collaboration, the three companies will maintain their individual operations but will work together under the guidance of a newly established entity called the Superintelligence Collective.
The Collective’s objective is to promote collaborative innovation and establish a fair playing field within the technological ecosystem. In a post by X, they stated:
Therefore, leveraging the decentralized nature of cryptocurrency could be crucial in supporting the growth of this innovative technology without allowing for the creation of an AI monopoly.
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