The UK Competition and Markets Authority is seeking to establish what consumer protections need to be placed on AI systems. Credit: IR Stone / Getty Images The UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has opened an initial review into the market for artificial intelligence systems, looking at the underlying foundational large language models that power chatbots such as ChatGPT alongside the opportunities and risks that AI could present. In a statement announcing the review, the regulatory body outlined three key areas it will examine: how the competitive markets for foundational models and their use could evolve; the opportunities and risks these scenarios could bring for competition and consumer protection; and what guiding principles should be introduced to support competition and protect consumers as AI models develop. The CMA added that the review is in line with the UK government’s aim to support “open, competitive markets,” as outlined in a white paper published in March. “It’s crucial that the potential benefits of this transformative technology are readily accessible to UK businesses and consumers while people remain protected from issues like false or misleading information,” said Sarah Cardell, chief executive of the CMA, in comments published alongside the announcement. “Our goal is to help this new, rapidly scaling technology develop in ways that ensure open, competitive markets and effective consumer protection.” As the CMA is carrying out this investigation under its general powers to keep markets under review, the likely immediate outcome of the investigation will be more about the CMA getting a better understanding as to how AI is impacting on technological development, rather than taking any enforcement action against individual companies, said Alex Haffner, competition partner at London law firm Fladgate. “That said, viewed against a background in which the CMA is being given ever greater powers to investigate and hold Big Tech to account, this announcement only serves to reinforce the notion that CMA is determined to use those powers as broadly as it can,” Haffner added. The UK government was also warned this week about the widespread impact AI could have on the workforce, with the UK’s outgoing chief scientific advisor, Sir Patrick Vallance, telling members of Parliament on the Science, Innovation and Technology Committee that the government needs to act to stop widespread job losses. “There will be a big impact on jobs and that impact could be as big as the Industrial Revolution was,” Vallance said. “There will be jobs that can be done by AI, which can either mean a lot of people don’t have a job, or a lot of people have jobs that only a human could do.” He also said that despite the opportunities the technology presented, the most immediate threat posed by AI was that it could “distort the perception of truth.” The interventions come in the same week the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) chairperson, Lina Khan, wrote in an opinion piece in the New York Times that the agency was concerned that generative AI’s ability to write in conversational English could be used to help scammers be more effective, but that the agency was committed to using existing laws to rein in some of the dangers of artificial intelligence. A request for views and evidence from stakeholders before June 2 has also been put out by the CMA, with a report based on those findings due to be published in September of this year. Related content news OpenAI unveils ‘Model Spec’: A framework for shaping responsible AI This first-of-its-kind document outlines the principles guiding model behavior in its API and ChatGPT, OpenAI announced in a blog post. By Gyana Swain May 09, 2024 4 mins Technology Industry Emerging Technology feature Windows 11 Insider Previews: What’s in the latest build? Get the latest info on new preview builds of Windows 11 as they roll out to Windows Insiders. Now updated for Build 26212 released for the Canary channel on May 8, 2024. By Preston Gralla May 09, 2024 253 mins Small and Medium Business Microsoft Windows 11 opinion Think Shadow AI is bad? Sneaky AI is worse It’s bad enough when an employee goes rogue and does an end-run around IT; but when a vendor does something similar, the problems could be broadly worse. By Evan Schuman May 09, 2024 5 mins Vendor Management Security Vendors and Providers feature Office 365: A guide to the updates Get the latest info on new features, bug fixes, and security updates for Office 365/Microsoft 365 for Windows as they roll out from Microsoft. Now updated for Version 2404 (Build 17531.20140), released on May 7, 2024. By Preston Gralla May 09, 2024 110 mins Microsoft 365 Microsoft Office Office Suites Podcasts Videos Resources Events SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER From our editors straight to your inbox Get started by entering your email address below. Please enter a valid email address Subscribe