Google walks tightrope on AI in search antitrust trial

Antitrust enforcers allege that Google illegally dominates online search by paying billions each year – US$26bil in 2021 – to be the default option on web browsers and smartphones. — AFP

Google executives downplayed the company’s artificial intelligence position during testimony at a landmark federal antitrust trial, saying the Alphabet Inc company has tried to be slow and cautious because of the dangerous power of the technology.

The Department of Justice has a different theory: That Google was way ahead in generative AI and chose not to release the technology sooner for fear of losing its monopoly in search. The fact that Google could move so quickly to debut its AI tools once Microsoft Corp entered the race shows that the company was holding back innovation, the DOJ claims.