Stanley Woodward, head of the U.S. Department of Justice Antitrust Division, said on Thursday at Fordham University in New York that the department is reviewing existing guidance on cybersecurity cooperation and is considering updating it.
Woodward stated that coordination among companies on cybersecurity—or on safety more broadly—does not necessarily appear to be anticompetitive. He added that the Antitrust Division is willing to engage with companies to discuss and clarify antitrust concerns.
He also noted that leading artificial intelligence labs have not yet requested formal meetings with the department about competition-law issues.
Background: pressure on tech companies
Woodward’s remarks come after Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei publicly urged regulators last week to allow rival firms to coordinate a slowdown in development pace for safety reasons.
Public concern about AI risks has been rising: last week Anthropic researcher Jacob Coxon announced his resignation, citing among other reasons the belief that “people developing AI honestly think the technology could kill all of us by the end of the decade.”
Why this matters
The DOJ’s review and its openness to consultations could enable the creation of cooperation mechanisms on cybersecurity and development practices that remain consistent with competition laws. That is a delicate issue in AI, where rapid progress and potential safety risks lead some industry actors to seek coordinated approaches.
Woodward’s statements were reported by Reuters; according to the coverage, the department has not yet held formal talks of this nature with the major AI labs.
An AI assistant contributed to preparation of this article; the final content was edited and verified by our journalist.
