Open Markets Proposes Alternative to the OSTP's Artificial Intelligence (AI) Action Plan

The Open Markets Institute responded to the Office of Science and Technology Policy’s (OSTP) Request for Information on the Development of an Artificial Intelligence (AI) Action Plan with an alternative approach to the proposed plan and associated AI policy making.

Open Markets shared our proposals for building an innovative and competitive AI ecosystem that leads the world and secures US national security by creating a more level playing field and fairer market for the benefit of the public interest rather than corporate profit.

“The proposed AI Action Plan equates innovation with protection of US monopolistic technology companies, namely Google, Amazon, Microsoft, Meta, and Apple. Empirical research shows that these massive, dominant companies are less innovative than startups and SMEs due to bureaucratic and organizational barriers to taking risks and deters external innovation,” the Open Markets submission reads.

Our submission addresses several key areas of AI policy that we believe are critical for America’s AI strategy, including:

• Promoting robust innovation while ensuring appropriate safeguards

• Strengthening AI research and development infrastructure

• Developing AI talent and workforce readiness

• Enhancing public-private partnerships to accelerate responsible AI adoption

Our submission issues a reminder of the well-documented drawbacks of allowing markets to become overly concentrated and controlled by monopolists, a progression we already see in AI:

“A concentrated AI market controlled by a few powerful players presents challenges beyond mere market competition. It stifles innovation by reducing incentives for established players to develop new solutions. It leaves consumers with fewer options for AI products, including safe AI models or small models that are less harmful to the environment. It also impacts the security and resilience of a society as more and more services and critical infrastructure, from government services to healthcare to financial systems, are dependent on a handful of actors, leaving entire societies vulnerable to foreign attacks. And it undermines free speech, as companies such as X and Meta deploy their own AI models to automate control over their social media platforms, identifying political dissidents and banning social media accounts.4 This consolidation of power threatens not only market dynamics and consumer outcomes but also innovation, the environment, and the foundations of democracy itself.”

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