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The FTC is aim to unravel the complex and secretive corporate family relationship in the top AI companies out there in a new inquiry . order have been sentto Alphabet , Amazon , Anthropic , Microsoft , and OpenAI that will , as Chair Lina Khan said , “ cast light on whether investments and partnership go after by dominant companies risk distorting institution and undermining fair competition . ”
No wrongdoing is aver at this stage . But it is just a small suspicious when companies already under probe for antitrust practices , or who have been fined or root regarding them , are apparently work on to lock down the next big technology for their own manipulation .
That ’s patent in the division between Anthropic ( back by Google andAmazonat billion - dollar sign stage ) and OpenAI ( backed byMicrosoftat billion - clam levels ) . What are these company but aproxy for the ambitions of the extant tech superpowers ?
Or at least , so it appear to the layman , and to the FTC , which has learned to detect the early stages of food market index in development .
“ History demonstrate that young applied science can create new grocery and healthy competition . As companies race to uprise and monetize AI , we must guard against tactics that foreclose this opportunity , ” Khan continued in her statement .
AI ’s proxy war heats up as Google reportedly backs Anthropic with $ 2B
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The orders mail to the companies listed above obligate them to share :
No doubt this will be derided by the caller in question as a sportfishing excursion into totally benign business kinship . After all , why should n’t ship’s company that have already spent billions engage AI spend a few more to prop up promising — but diametrically oppose — unexampled challengers ?
After issue , Microsoft told TechCrunch in a statement that its OpenAI deal is “ promoting competition and accelerating origination ” — you may try whether you cogitate that is accurate . Google , for its part , took the chance to trash Microsoft with a passive - fast-growing swipe at its strategy . Both purport to welcome the question .
Incidentally , today the FTC is hosting a summit on AI and its opportunities and dangers , in the sense of market and inauguration . In her possible action remarks , Khan noted that train AI modelling “ further incentivizes surveillance , ” which is of path the business organisation example take over by Google , Meta , et al . over the last 10 or so , and that companies “ ca n’t use claim of innovation as back for law - breakage . ”
To paraphrase a adage , an inquiry in time save up nine down the line . Whether this leads to further activity on the Commission ’s part is anyone ’s guess at this breaker point , but the inquiry serves as notice that these companies are being watched .
