Antitrust Exemption or Cartel: Former DOJ Antitrust Chief on AI Safety Coordination
Original title:Does AI need an antitrust exemption so it doesn’t kill everyone????
As leading AI labs cite catastrophic risks to demand antitrust exemptions for cross-industry safety coordination, regulatory scrutiny is mounting. In a Decoder interview, former US Department of Justice antitrust chief Jonathan Kanter analyzes the tension between safety alliances and anti-competitive behavior. He warns that permitting rivals to coordinate under the banner of risk mitigation carries severe hazards of regulatory capture and cartel formation, potentially shielding incumbents from legitimate market competition.
Why it's worth reading
As major AI labs frame catastrophic safety as a cooperative mandate requiring antitrust leniency, former top DOJ antitrust chief Jonathan Kanter offers a sharp reality check on the boundary between genuine safety and anticompetitive cartels.