Document Type
Article
Publication Date
2023
Abstract
Generative artificial intelligence is being rapidly deployed for corporate tasks including pricing. Suppose one of these machines communicates with the pricing manager of a competing firm, proposes to collude, receives assent, and raises price. Is this a crime under U.S. antitrust laws, and, if so, who is liable? Based on the observed behavior of the most widely adopted large language model, we argue that this conduct is imminent, satisfies the requirements for agreement and intent under Section 1 of the Sherman Act, and could confer criminal liability to both firms as well as the pricing manager of the competing firm.
Citation
Aslihan Asil & Thomas Wollmann, Can Machines Commit Crimes Under US Antitrust Laws?, 3 University of Chicago Business Law Review 1-38 (2023)
Library of Congress Subject Headings
Corporation law, Artificial intelligence, Criminal liability, Antitrust law--Criminal provisions
Included in
Antitrust and Trade Regulation Commons, Commercial Law Commons, Computer Law Commons, Criminal Law Commons
Available at: https://scholarship.law.duke.edu/faculty_scholarship/4445