United Kingdom: Opened consultation on CMA review of competition in artificial intelligence models

On 4 May 2023, the United Kingdom Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) announced the launch of a review of competition in artificial intelligence models, referred to as foundation models and opened a public consultation until 2 June 2023. In its review, the CMA aims to investigate the sector and identify the number of entities involved in the development of foundation models and evaluate whether foundation models have the potential to challenge or strengthen the dominant position of the largest firms. Furthermore, the CMA aims to examine potential barriers for new entities to enter the sector, including their access to requisite data, funding and computational resources. Finally, the CMA aims to investigate the impact of the foundation models on other markets, such as search and productivity software, and the tendency of entities to develop more open or closed ecosystems when incorporating AI systems.