October 19, 2023
Politico recently published an article featuring Professor of Markets, Public Policy, and Law, Florian Ederer, discussing the U.K.’s AI Safety Summit, Microsoft-Activision blockbuster deal and the next EU-U.S. Trade and Tech Council summits.
During the AI Safety Summit on November 1-2, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland will play host to all manner of foreign leaders and tech executives. Among other outcomes from the summit, London is clear that the AI Safety Institute it wants to pitch to allies is not a global regulator for AI like the IAEA. A blockbuster $69 billion deal between Microsoft and Activision was finally closed over 18 months after it was first announced. As a result, the software giant has demonstrated its legal and lobbying power, creating a precedent for other megadeals across industries.
Ederer adds, “It shines a bright light on these acquisitions in the future…it’s very unlikely for Microsoft to engage in exclusionary behavior going forward,” he said.
In the end, The Microsoft situation may lie somewhere in the middle, between water storage tanks and software. According to the FTC, the Xbox maker would unfairly deny competitors access to blockbuster games like “Call of Duty.” This could eventually lead to discrete assets being sold.
