VBB partner Alex Stratakis discusses competition and generative AI at IBA competition conference
- 19/09/2023
- News
London-based competition partner Alex Stratakis spoke last week on the role of competition law and policy in controlling artificial intelligence (AI) at the International Bar Association’s 27th Annual Competition Conference. The conference, a leading event on the international competition circuit, was held in Florence on 15-16 September 2023. Fellow panellists included representatives from Intel and Meta, Professor Ariel Ezrachi, Director of the University of Oxford Centre for Competition Law and Policy, and colleagues in private practice.
The discussion gave a global view of the challenges and opportunities of balancing innovation with market fairness, analysing the potential effects of AI on other markets, consumer choices and prices, data privacy concerns, and the entry barriers facing new companies in the AI industry. Alex spoke from the UK and EU practitioner’s perspective, covering EU legislation such as the Digital Markets Act, and anticipating the UK Competition and Markets Authority’s initial report on Foundation Models (FMs) – broad-based AI systems that can be adapted to a wide range of different purposes – published just after the conference on 18 September. The report outlines proposed guiding principles to ensure that competition and consumer protection considerations underpin the use and development of FMs and will be followed by an update, taking account of market developments and industry reaction, in early 2024.
Our competition team acts for a wide range of clients on matters related to the digital economy. Please get in touch with your usual VBB contact if you would like more information on how EU and UK digital regulation may affect your business and strategy.
