Feds Team Up to Oversee Booming AI Industry

The broad contours of an agreement that could result in increased government supervision of the quickly developing artificial intelligence market, which includes major players like Microsoft, Nvidia, and OpenAI, have been approved by federal regulators, two individuals with knowledge of the negotiations told CBS News.

According to the persons, the Federal Trade Commission and the Justice Department will divide up the supervision of various businesses in the industry.The Justice Department's antitrust division will oversee Nvidia's activities, while the FTC will oversee OpenAI and Microsoft's commercial practices.

The White House has been pushing for greater oversight of Big Tech, and the federal government is grappling with the swift developments in AI technology and their growing impact on the American economy and culture.

Federal Scrutiny on Monopolistic Practices in AI Industry Intensifies

For over a year, federal officials have made it clear that they are keeping an eye out for monopolistic practices as AI products generate text, graphics, and audio that are similar to those of humans.

The first AI officer of the agency was appointed, as the Justice Department revealed in February. In May, the department declared that it was "actively examining the AI ecosystem."

Deals that "allow dominant firms to exert undue influence or gain privileged access in ways that could undermine fair competition" would be rigorously scrutinized, according to a January statement by FTC Chair Lina Khan.

At the time, the FTC said it was beginning an investigation into the relationships between cloud computing companies like Amazon, Google, and Microsoft, which had made significant investments in AI startups like OpenAI and Anthropic.

For example, Microsoft gives OpenAI access to the massive processing power required to train ChatGPT and other generative AI systems. Furthermore, the semiconductors produced by chipmaker Nvidia are crucial to the operation of AI applications across the board.

Hollywood celebrity Scarlett Johansson claimed that Open AI's ChatGPT voice option, Sky, sounded "eerily similar to mine." The firm refuted the actor's claim that Sky was her voice, and last month, it suspended usage of the feature.

Apple's announcement on Monday that it is integrating artificial intelligence (AI) into several of its products, including iPhones, is the most recent illustration of how the tech sector is adopting AI. Apple will collaborate with OpenAI to incorporate its ChatGPT tool into future software updates, such as iOS 18, iPadOS 18, and macOS Sequoia, as part of that endeavor.

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