AI is a "double-edged sword"! The two tech giants were fined 68 billion won by South Korea, how to balance regulation and industry innovation?

Lately, the tech giants have had a hard time.

Following South Korea's tens of billions of won fines against tech giants Google Inc. and Apple on October 6, on October 7, according to Bloomberg, people familiar with the matter revealed that the EU will also impose additional restrictions on the largest AI systems, such as OpenAI's GPT-4, while ensuring that new startups are not overburdened by regulation.

Regarding the recent regulation of technology giants in the European Union and South Korea, the experts interviewed said that on the one hand, it protects fair competition in the market, and on the other hand, it may also limit the speed of industry development. Therefore, it is particularly important to balance the relationship between industry regulation and innovation development.

Tech giants are regulated

South Korea's telecom regulator said on October 6 that it would be fined up to 68 billion won (about 369 million yuan at the day's exchange rate) for technology giants Google Inc. and Apple for violating local laws in the field of in-app payments.

In response, the Korea Communications Commission (KCC) pointed out that Google and Apple forced app developers to use specific payment methods, causing unfair delays in app review, and are currently notifying the two companies to take corrective action and will review the fine.

As for South Korea's restrictions on the monopoly of technology giants in payment methods, as early as August 31, 2021, the South Korean National Assembly voted to pass amendments to the Telecommunications Business Act, and on September 14, 2021, the bill officially came into effect, becoming the first country in the world to legally prohibit Apple and Google from forcing developers to use their payment systems. This means that in South Korea, developers of the App Store and Google Play can use third-party payments, which in turn can bypass Apple's and Google's long-standing 30% platform tax.

In this regard, Zhang Xiaorong, president of the Deepin Science and Technology Research Institute, told the "China Times" reporter that this is based on anti-monopoly and is the South Korean government's regulatory behavior of US technology giants, aiming to maintain fair competition in the market and protect the rights and interests of consumers, and there is also a certain warning taste.

In addition to South Korea, the European Union is also preparing to regulate technology giants in the near future.

On October 7, media reported that EU negotiators planned to impose additional controls on the largest artificial intelligence (AI) systems under the upcoming AI Act, targeting large tech giants, according to people familiar with the matter.

Representatives from the European Commission, the European Parliament and EU countries are discussing an approach that could address concerns raised by powerful large-scale language models (technologies underpinning AI chatbots), such as OpenAI's GPT-4, while ensuring that new startups are not overburdened by regulation, the person said. Negotiators hope to finalize legislation by the end of the year and work towards reaching agreement at their next meeting, on 25 October.

In this regard, Zhang Xiaorong believes that this regulates the application of artificial intelligence technology of American giants to ensure the safe and legal use of artificial intelligence.

At the same time, Guo Tao, an angel investor and senior artificial intelligence expert, also pointed out to this reporter that the implementation of the bill will provide a level playing field for the EU's artificial intelligence industry and avoid malicious competition from some bad companies. The introduction of the bill is conducive to the development of the EU artificial intelligence industry, but in the process of implementation, it is also necessary to pay attention to balancing the relationship between regulation and development.

How to balance regulatory norms and development innovation?

Regarding the recent regulation of technology giants in the European Union and South Korea, Zhang Xiaorong believes that "this can be regarded as a defensive and protective behavior of the technology depression market." ”

On the one hand, he said, these regulatory measures can prompt tech giants to change their unfair business practices, which may help protect fair competition in the market and safeguard consumer rights in the long run; On the other hand, these regulations may also have a certain degree of impact on the innovation ability and market competitiveness of technology giants, and may require them to adjust and improve on a compliance and ethical level.

Guo Tao believes that this will also lead to increasingly strict supervision of artificial intelligence companies worldwide, and relevant countries will accelerate the pace of introducing relevant laws and regulations on artificial intelligence supervision.

However, Wu Gaobin, vice president and founding secretary general of the Metaverse Working Committee of the China Civil Association, pointed out to the China Times reporter, "This may reduce the market share of technology giants and provide more opportunities for other competitors." But it could also lead tech giants to adopt a more conservative approach, reducing innovation and investment, which could affect the development of the entire industry. ”

At the same time, Liang Zhenpeng, a senior industrial economic observer, also pointed out to this reporter that excessive control may also inhibit the innovation power of enterprises and limit the development speed of the industry.

Therefore, how to balance the development of industry regulation and innovation is particularly important. In this regard, the experts interviewed said that this is indeed a difficult problem.

Xie Xiaowen, a well-known commentator, pointed out to the China Times reporter that balancing industry regulation and innovative development requires the government to formulate clear rules and guidelines, strengthen supervision and law enforcement, encourage cooperation and innovation, and provide public support and other measures.

At the same time, Yuan Shuai, executive director of the high-quality development promotion project of specialized and special new enterprises, also told this reporter that on the one hand, industry self-discipline can be strengthened, and self-discipline supervision can be carried out by formulating industry standards and evaluating and supervising enterprises; On the other hand, the government and enterprises can strengthen the training and introduction of talents in the field of artificial intelligence, and encourage more talents to participate in the research and development and application of artificial intelligence technology by providing funds and policy support, at the same time, the government and enterprises can also strengthen the public participation in the process of artificial intelligence technology research and development, so that the public can understand the development and application of artificial intelligence technology, so as to promote the development of the industry.

Responsible editor: Xu Yunqian Editor-in-chief: Gong Peijia