STANFORD, Calif. — The Justice Department’s chief antitrust enforcer issued a warning Thursday to tech companies working in artificial intelligence, cautioning that they could face action from regulators if they don’t find a way to fairly compensate artists, entertainers and other creators.
Kanter did not say that Justice Department action was imminent, but he said the department was paying close attention to industry developments. “At the antitrust division, we are actively examining the AI ecosystem, both through our policy work at events just like this one and through our enforcement,” he said. “Monopolizing upstream markets or creative works is monopolization, whether or not a large language model is involved,” he said.