FTC probes AI deals with Big Tech

The Federal Trade Commission is scrutinizing partnerships made between AI and cloud computing companies that could constitute potentially anticompetitive behavior, Chair Lina Khan said Thursday at an FTC event focused on AI.

Specifically, the commission is probing Microsoft’s partnership with OpenAI, as well as separate deals Amazon and Google have made with Anthropic, the commission said. The five companies will be required to share information about their agreements, oversight, and competitive impact, among other topics, within the next 45 days.

• Microsoft, which first invested in OpenAI in 2019, has spent roughly $13 billion on the ChatGPT maker.
• Google and Amazon have reportedly invested $2 billion and $4 billion, respectively, in OpenAI rival Anthropic.

“There’s no AI exemption from the laws on the books, and we’re looking closely at the ways that companies may be using their power to thwart fair competition or trick the public,” Khan said.

Advertisers—and investors—are gaga for AI, and most advertising platforms have figured out ways to cram generative AI tools into their tech, like Google’s new generative search engine. But there’s increasing scrutiny over the ethical and legal implications of AI technology.

The news of the probe follows a report from Politico that the commission had begun working with the Department of Justice to investigate OpenAI’s relationship with Microsoft. The commission is already investigating the AI company over whether its technology was built using “unfair or deceptive privacy or data security practices.”

The FTC framed the inquiry beginning this week as essential to protecting competition and minimizing harms from the fast-growing technology.

“Will this be a moment of opening up markets to fair and free competition?” Khan said Thursday. “Or will a handful of dominant firms concentrate control over these key tools, locking us into a future of their choosing?”