Competition policy in the era of Artificial Intelligence

AI

Rome [ENA] The challenges created by the economic impact of Artificial Intelligence involve a particular focus on the impact on competition as well as related policy challenges and ways to increase AI’s positive impact on the economy. Artificial intelligence (AI) will be a very noticeable transformational technology of the current digital age. Some of the most common, simple questions about what it is, what it can already do

—and what it will become— cover technology, psychology, politics, economics, science fiction, law, and ethics. According to recent studies, by 2030 some 70 percent of companies might have adopted at least one type of AI technology but less than half will have fully absorbed all AI’s categories known till now, that is: computer vision, natural language, virtual assistants, robotic process automation, and advanced machine learning. The model of adoption and full absorption might be relatively rapid as one has observed with other technologies. The role of EU and Japan in the ongoing process of AI development and the focus on AI for this coming year is particularly relevant as Japan, like Europe as a whole, is at risk of being over-shadowed

by the US and China. After the signature of the EU-Japan Partnership Agreement, there is a strong ground for collaboration between the two regions. The Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) between the EU and Japan entered into force on 1 February 2019. Businesses and consumers across Europe and in Japan can take advantage of the largest open trade zone in the world. The Economic Partnership Agreement removed the vast majority of the €1 billion of duties paid annually by EU companies exporting to Japan. Once the agreement is fully implemented, Japan will have scrapped customs duties on 97% of goods imported from the European Union.

AI is the subject of countless discussions and articles, from treatises about technical advances to tabloid headlines about its effects. Even as the debate continues, the technologies behind Artificial Intelligence continue to move forward, permitting applications from facial recognition in smartphones to consumer apps that use AI algorithms to detect diabetes and hypertension with increasing accuracy. Indeed, while much of the public discussion of Artificial Intelligence focuses on science fiction-like AI realization such as robots, the number of less-noticed practical applications for AI throughout the economy is growing rapidly and pervading all aspects of life. The establishment of optical cables network in order to improve

international connectivity and have a faster data transmission, thus reducing the costs for the participant countries in the People's Republic of China OBOR Initiative is an example of impact on the economy. Chinese ZTE and Huawei have vigorously signed deals for the construction of networks, such as the construction of a fiber optic cable in Afghanistan. The adoption of the Beidou system, the rival of GPS, will enhance the independence from western systems of telecommunications.

Of this economic activity is also paving the way to artificial intelligence. USA on the other side is introducing Artificial Intelligence in Space Missions, utilizing machine learning and expert systems for spacecraft command and data handling, autonomous operations and mission control software. Artificial Intelligence in Space Missions could be utilized for cybersecurity and so on.