OpenAI Defies Antitrust Concerns to Join Rivals on AI Safety

OpenAI's Global Policy Chief, Chris Lehane, affirmed on Tuesday (Sept. 15) that OpenAI, Anthropic, and Google DeepMind have been collaborating since last week to tackle AI safety concerns, as reported by Bloomberg. During a briefing in Washington, Lehane emphasized that OpenAI does not envision the necessity for an antitrust waiver to cooperate on safety measures.

He cited precedents for such collaborative efforts in the airline industry. Neither Anthropic nor Google DeepMind provided immediate responses to PYMNTS’ inquiries for comment. According to a report from Sunday, Anthropic, Google, and OpenAI have reportedly discussed establishing an AI industry standards body, though the extent of their recent collaboration has not been publicly disclosed.

Federal Trade Commission Chairman Andrew Ferguson expressed caution regarding AI companies' attempts to avoid antitrust rules while advocating for new regulations during an event in Washington. Lehane, who met with lawmakers in Washington, stated that OpenAI supports bipartisan proposals to address AI's potential catastrophic risks, as reported by Politico.

OpenAI has endorsed a provision in the FRONTIER Act, which would establish a federal framework for AI safety and mandate top AI companies to allow outside evaluators to assess their models' safety. Lehane confirmed to reporters that OpenAI supports the inclusion of "independent verification organizations" in this legislation, which was introduced by Reps. Jay Obernolte of California and Lori Trahan of Massachusetts.