FTC Demands Transparency from AI Firms: Insights into Investments, Collaborations, and Conferences

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has set its sights on unravelling the intricate and secretive corporate alliances within the top AI companies through a new investigation. Chairman Lina Khan has issued orders to Alphabet, Amazon, Anthropic, Microsoft, and OpenAI, with the aim of “shedding light on whether dominant companies’ investments and partnerships pose a threat to innovation and fair competition.”

At this stage, no wrongdoing has been alleged. However, the timing is raising eyebrows – considering these companies are already under antitrust investigation or facing fines/settlements for such practices, it is concerning that they may be attempting to monopolize the next big technology for their own gain.

That’s evident in the divide between Anthropic, backed by Google and Amazon at billion-dollar levels, and OpenAI, backed by Microsoft at the same level. Are these companies merely a front for the ambitions of the existing tech giants?

This is a valid concern not just for the average person, but also for the FTC, which has honed the ability to detect signs of market domination in its early stages.

In her statement, Khan emphasized, “History has shown that new technologies can create new markets and encourage healthy competition. As companies race to develop and monetize AI, we must be vigilant against tactics that could hinder this opportunity.”

The orders issued to the companies listed above require them to disclose:

• The details of their partnerships, investments, and the strategic reasoning behind them
• The practical implications of these partnerships, such as release dates or product development
• The discussions held in meetings between these companies
• Any analysis conducted on the competitive impact of these transactions on market share and competition
• How these partnerships affect competition for AI-specific resources, such as computing power
• Any information shared with other government bodies, both foreign and domestic, on these matters

Undoubtedly, the companies under scrutiny will dismiss this investigation as a mere fishing expedition into their perfectly innocent business operations. After all, why shouldn’t companies that have already invested billions in developing AI be reaping the benefits?

Curiously, on the same day, the FTC is holding an AI summit to discuss the potential and risks of this emerging technology in terms of markets and startups. In her opening remarks, Khan noted, “The very act of training AI models further drives surveillance,” which has been the central business model adopted by companies like Google and Meta in the past decade. She also emphasized that companies cannot use claims of innovation as an excuse to break laws.

As the proverb goes, an investigation in time saves nine in the long run. It’s unclear if this will result in further action by the Commission, but it serves as a warning that these companies are being closely watched.