DOJ Weighs Update on AI Safety Collaboration Amid Calls for Antitrust Waiver
The US Department of Justice (DOJ) is considering updating its guidelines on collaboration in cybersecurity to cover AI security, potentially giving companies a clearer legal framework for working together on safety protocols without worrying about antitrust lawsuits.
This development comes after Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei called on the US government for a narrow antitrust waiver that would let competing AI labs coordinate on slowing down AI development and setting common safety standards.
Associate Attorney General Stanley Woodward stated at Fordham University on September 17 that the DOJ does not currently view coordination among companies on AI safety issues as anticompetitive, suggesting an openness to letting AI companies work together on safety without triggering antitrust alarms.
However, not everyone in Washington is warming up to this idea. FTC Chairman Andrew Ferguson expressed skepticism toward AI firms requesting new regulations and antitrust exemptions, citing concerns that larger companies could design standards to lock out smaller competitors.