UK Antitrust Watchdog to Deepen Scrutiny of AI Foundation Models

The UK’s antitrust watchdog set out a new set of principles for regulating artificial intelligence and kick started a project to deepen its scrutiny of the fast-developing technology.

The Competition and Markets Authority said on Monday that AI could quickly affect markets and consumers, following a wide-ranging preliminary review. It outlined seven principles for regulating AI systems trained on vast pools of data, which can be adapted to various tasks — known as foundation models.

The regulator said it’s starting a significant program to develop its position on AI, which will see it speak to companies at the forefront of the technology including Alphabet Inc.’s Google, Meta Platforms Inc., OpenAI, Microsoft Corp., NVIDIA Corp. and Anthropic. It will also seek the views of consumer and civil society groups, government experts and other regulators. It will publish further findings in early 2024.

“There remains a real risk that the use of AI develops in a way that undermines consumer trust or is dominated by a few players who exert market power that prevents the full benefits being felt across the economy,” said Sarah Cardell, the CMA’s chief executive officer.

AI has become a priority for the UK government, which hopes to position the country at the vanguard of its development. The government asked a number of regulators to assess the development of it in a March paper, and Prime Minister Rishi Sunak will host a global summit on AI in early November at Britain’s World War II code-breaking center Bletchley Park.