UK has real concerns about AI risks, says competition regulator

Just six major technology companies are at the heart of the AI sector through an "interconnected web" of more than 90 investments and partnerships links, the UK's competition regulator has warned, sparking increased concern about the anti-competitive nature of the technology. Sarah Cardell, the chief executive of the Competition and Markets Authority, said AI foundation models – general-purpose AI systems such as OpenAI's GPT-4 and Google's Gemini, on which consumer and business products are frequently built – were a potential "paradigm shift" for society. Speaking in Washington, she added that the immense concentration of power they represented would give a small number of companies "the ability and incentives to shape these markets in their own interests". "When we started this work, we were curious. Now, with a deeper understanding and having watched developments very closely, we have real concerns," Cardell said.