The top lawyer representing the U.S. DOJ in its antitrust case against Google has accused the tech giant of stifling AI innovation through monopolizing the search market via exclusivity deals. Google is alleged to have violated federal antitrust laws by having deals with clients like Apple to preload its search engine on devices and browsers. The DOJ is expected to give its verdict this summer. Kenneth Dintzer argued that the exclusivity deals should have been terminated the moment Google gained its monopoly, as Google pays billions to Apple every year to give it a competitive edge as the default search engine on the Safari web browser. In court, Dintzer questioned if AI innovation would have been stifled if Google had not maintained its monopoly. The report also mentions the AI chatbot ChatGPT, which has been at the forefront of conversations about AI development, although it has not been without controversy.

(By Tim Hakki)