SHOULD AI GET ANTITRUST EXEMPTION?

Kanter, who led the Department of Justice's antitrust division under Biden, now teaches at Washington University and Carnegie Mellon. He's exploring whether traditional antitrust rules could hinder necessary collaboration among AI labs on safety research. The debate reflects growing tension in the AI industry. Major researchers at companies like Anthropic and Google DeepMind have publicly departed over safety concerns, while regulators worldwide grapple with how to oversee increasingly powerful AI systems. Antitrust exemptions would allow competitors to work together without violating antitrust law—potentially enabling coordinated safety research. Critics worry exemptions could entrench dominant players and reduce competition. The discussion highlights a fundamental policy challenge: whether existing competition frameworks adequately address AI's unique risks, or whether new approaches are needed to balance innovation, safety, and competition.