Populism continues to blur political lines. This is most obvious in antitrust policy. For decades, conservatives have largely stood firm against left-wing antitrust hawks who believe “monopolies” are everywhere. But their distrust of the political bias of big tech companies has made the populist right more comfortable launching antitrust campaigns. Republican senators have formed an odd coalition, publicly praising some of the most progressive members of the Biden administration, who hold senior positions at the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the Justice Department. The advent of the artificial intelligence era has added new wrinkles to this phenomenon. Ironically, we see panic intertwined.
Many believe that the dystopian technological frontier of artificial intelligence is simply history repeating itself. New technologies often disrupt dominant industries and businesses in ways that even the most stringent antitrust remedies cannot match. Artificial intelligence should be no exception, but bipartisan antitrust fervor could lead to a costly victory and end this historical cycle.
The right has long focused on large and biased institutions. Conservatives have a long history of complaining about the “liberal media” and progressivism in academia. The difference is that in the past, conservatives responded by building their own institutions. Thanks to new technologies, doing so has become easier. Social media allows heterodox voices to reach large audiences. Search engines and online marketplaces make finding customers easier. Online conservative outlets like PragerU now have ratings that rival and surpass those of traditional media. Entrepreneurs can bypass retailers like Walmart and list directly on Etsy and Amazon. Despite concerns about the size of today’s tech companies, there’s plenty of evidence that competition downstream of platforms is booming to the benefit of consumers.
What has changed is that the obstacles to building a competitive platform are now considered insurmountable. “Build your own” arguments are now often derided. In fact, there are daunting technical and intellectual barriers to coding, launching, and maintaining a new online platform. Just as new technologies have intensified competition in industries such as media and retail, artificial intelligence has the power to remove barriers to building competitive digital services.
While AI is making waves, generating interesting images or “helping” students with homework, consumer-facing AI burst onto the scene a few years ago with services like ChatGPT-3, which converts plain text commands into functional web code. As artificial intelligence continues to improve, people may not need to “learn to code” to compete. “Building your own” search service or shopping platform is not a punchline. If this revolution is not hampered by the impatience of antitrust players, artificial intelligence has unprecedented potential to level the playing field.
Artificial intelligence now faces two major policy threats.The first is that artificial intelligence is subject to strict regulation too early from before approach rather than the status quo of unlicensed innovation afterwards Enforce existing laws that apply to artificial intelligence. By involving regulators in AI development, only the largest companies with the resources and knowledge needed to meet government needs can compete. Little do lawmakers realize that their desire to control dominant businesses actually guarantees their longevity as market leaders. But these companies understand this and are often more than happy to accept regulations that pose a barrier to potential competitors.
Another threat is that antitrust scrutiny could drain resources needed for the continued development of competitive AI systems. Nearly every major technology company is facing ongoing or imminent antitrust litigation. In January, the FTC launched an investigation into Microsoft’s investment in OpenAI. Such situations impose huge resource costs. Even regulatory displeasure can prevent companies from making bold new investments.
The last Congress introduced bipartisan antitrust legislation that would explicitly prohibit the largest tech companies from making new acquisitions. Such a policy, whether through litigation or legislation, would cut off a critical avenue for startup investors to recover their capital. If investors don’t see a realistic path to return, they’re less likely to help a new competitor get off the ground. As a result, revolutionary artificial intelligence companies may never leave your parents’ garages.
Innovation has always been an important constraint on the accumulation of market power. Current antitrust enthusiasts mistakenly view artificial intelligence as a symptom of their concerns about Big Tech, completely missing what it really represents: a natural solution.
This article originally appeared in the print edition under the headline “Antitrust could stifle the power of artificial intelligence.”
