BCCP Conference Forum AI: Prospects, Challenges, and Regulation Part 2

Session 2: AI: The Next Frontier in Competition and Consumer Policies
The emergence of a small number of extremely powerful digital ecosystems over the past two decades and the corresponding concentration of power have sparked a critical debate about the role of competition policy and regulation in digital markets. The perceived failure of ex-post antitrust enforcement to curb the growing abuse of such concentrated power by technology companies led in part to the introduction of ex-ante regulations such as the DSA (Digital Services Act), DMA (Digital Markets Act), and AIA (Artificial Intelligence Act). Calls for a more cautious approach to AI are motivated by the fact that the AI tech stack is already dominated by the same few giants such as Microsoft, Google, Amazon and Nvidia. While delivering sizable benefits, how may AI reinforce and exacerbate consumer harm in concentrated markets? How far can policy interventions aimed at protecting competition go to address the key threats that AI poses to consumers and society? What should be the enforcement focus - and what are the enforcement challenges - for new regulations such as the DSA and DMA? Should policymakers be particularly concerned about competitive developments in the generative AI stack and act more preventively than in the past?
Oren Bar-Gill (hls.harvard.ed...)
Professor of Law and Economics, Harvard University
Joanna Bryson (www.joannajbry...)
Professor of Ethics and Technology, Hertie School of Governance
Emilio Calvano (emiliocalvano....)
Professor of Economics, Luiss University
Moritz Hardt (mrtz.org/)
Director, Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems, Tübingen
Moderated by Hans W. Friederiszick (Managing Director, E.CA Economics and Research Fellow, European School of Management and Technology (ESMT) (www.e-ca.com/o...)