French Competition Authority's New Thinking On How The Relationship Between Artificial Intelligence And Energy Could Impact Competition

Something interesting happened before Christmas, marking a first among the big European competition regulators: The French Competition Authority (FCA) showed it is starting to think carefully about the competitive issues linked to the energy and environmental impact of artificial intelligence (AI). While much of the more general thinking on AI is ground already trodden by other competition authorities, the focus on energy takes this thinking in a new direction. In this briefing, we highlight the key points to take away from this development – energy access and use are key parameters of competition for AI service providers, while AI is clearly a growing priority for public authorities across the globe. We conclude with thoughts on what this means for operators doing business in these sectors.