US antitrust regulator Jonathan Kanter will investigate the country’s artificial intelligence (AI) sector over concerns about a few companies having too much control, most notably NVIDIA.
In a report from the Financial Times, Kanter stated that he is taking a closer look at the competitive landscape of AI and possible monopolies. This research focuses on aspects such as computing power, the data used to train large language models (LLMs), cloud service providers, technical talent and hardware.
US official wants to prevent AI monopoly
According to Kanter, the AI sector must take urgent action to ensure that the already dominant technological companies do not have monopoly over the market. The official said regulators are concerned that AI is “at the peak of competition, not the bottom.”
The director also said that real-time intervention may make the most sense. “The beauty of that is you can be less invasive,” he added.
Kanter emphasized that the graphics processing units (GPUs) used to train LLMs have become scarce. The official said antitrust regulators are also examining how chipmakers allocate their advanced products as demand increases.
On May 23, GPU provider Nvidia released its Q1 earnings report, showing revenue up 262% from a year ago. Following the release of the report, the company’s share price rose to a new all-time high of $1,007, pushing its valuation above $2.5 trillion.
Kanter said there are already government programs in place to boost production. This includes the subsidies provided for chip production. In 2022, the Chips and Science Act was signed, allocating $39 billion in subsidies for chip manufacturing in the country.
Concerns about AI monopoly
In 2023, Janet Adams, COO of SingularityNET, raised concerns about Big Tech companies pursuing a monopoly on artificial general intelligence (AGI), a conceptual version of AI that can think and develop like a human.
In an interview, Adams said the “dystopian” future that many imagine with AI could happen if the technology is monopolized. The executive believes that these big companies will use the technology “for the profit of a few” and will not lead the world away from inequalities.
To avoid the worst, the director believes that it is important to decentralize the development of AI using blockchain technology.
Source: https://newsbit.nl/groot-monopolie-gevaar-in-de-ai-sector-amerika-doet-onderzoek/
