Regulators are starting to investigate how to deal with the rapid rise of consumer AI like ChatGPT

• Regulators are starting to investigate how to deal with the rapid rise of consumer AI like ChatGPT.
• The UK's competition watchdog is reviewing how to make AI accessible but safe to use.

The UK government is calling for an investigation into the rapid rise of consumer AI like ChatGPT to create guidance around how to protect and support consumers, businesses, and the economy.

"The government has asked regulators including the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), to think about how the innovative development and deployment of AI can be supported against five overarching principles: safety, security and robustness; appropriate transparency and explainability; fairness; accountability and governance; and contestability and redress," the CMA, Britain's competition regulator, said Thursday.

The CMA's review, which is in the early stages at present, will look at how AI models can benefit businesses and consumers, the opportunities and risks these scenarios pose "for competition and consumer protection," as well as guidance on how to support and protect consumers as AI develops further.

The technology "has the potential to transform the way businesses compete as well as drive substantial economic growth," the CEO of the CMA, Sarah Cardell, said.

"It's crucial that the potential benefits of this transformative technology are readily accessible to UK businesses and consumers while people remain protected from issues like false or misleading information," Cardell added.

Meanwhile, in the US the CEOs of leading AI companies Alphabet, Microsoft, OpenAI, and Anthropic sat down for a meeting with vice president Kamila Harris at the White House on Thursday to discuss safety concerns around AI.

Harris told CEOs they have a "moral responsibility" to ensure products are safe for consumer use during the meeting.

Twitter CEO Elon Musk, AI experts, and leaders in the industry including Steve Wozniak and Stability AI CEO Emad Mostaque signed an open letter requesting a pause on the development of AI more powerful than OpenAI's GPT4 as worries mount about the dangers it poses.

The letter said tech giants are in an "out-of-control race to develop and deploy," AI tools that could eventually "outnumber, outsmart, obsolete and replace us."