AI, Antitrust, and the Trump Administration

Thomas W. Hazlett, partner at Ballard Spahr and leader of the firm's eDiscovery and Data Management Practice Group, will speak at IPWatchdog's third annual Artificial Intelligence & Emerging Technologies program. On the second day of the program, Thomas will be joined by the following fellow speakers:

• Alden Abbott, former Federal Trade Commission general counsel and current senior research fellow for the Mercatus Center at George Mason University
• David Geiger, trial attorney for the Technology & Digital Platforms section of the Antitrust Division of the U.S. Department of Justice
• Nate Harris, attorney advisor for the Federal Trade Commission
• Taylor Owings, partner at Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati

The event description:

Antitrust enforcement agencies and private plaintiffs are preparing to challenge alleged anticompetitive uses of artificial intelligence (AI). Growing scrutiny is being placed on algorithmic practices that may facilitate collusion and drive up prices. Additionally, concerns are mounting over potential anticompetitive mergers involving AI assets—particularly in cloud computing—as well as the misuse of AI by digital platforms to establish or maintain monopolies. Meanwhile, with President Donald J. Trump back in the White House, and having instructed the DOJ and FCC to go after Big Tech in order to help Little Tech, significant questions exist with respect to how aggressive antitrust enforcement will be during Trump’s second term, and in particular as it relates to what appears to be a growing consolidation of AI platforms and technologies among and between the true giant tech companies that dominate the U.S. tech sector.

Our expert panel will provide insights from in-house counsel at major tech companies, discuss the perspectives of U.S. antitrust enforcers, and offer a viewpoint on AI regulation and competition policy that is likely to come over the next several years.