- The US Federal Trade Commission is investigating major AI companies including OpenAI and Anthropic
- The FTC will issue formal information requests and seek testimony from leading AI company executives
- The probe includes examining the AI research group METR for potential consumer risks
The US Federal Trade Commission is opening an investigation into major artificial intelligence companies, including OpenAI and Anthropic, to examine potential risks their technologies may pose to consumers, according to a report.
As part of the inquiry, the FTC is expected to issue formal demands for information and seek testimony from executives at leading AI developers. The agency is also expected to examine the research group METR as part of the broader probe, Reuters reported.
The investigation comes as regulators and companies face growing questions over the safety of increasingly capable AI systems, particularly those that can perform tasks with greater autonomy.
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FTC Chairperson Andrew Ferguson began the investigation before OpenAI disclosed that some of its AI agents had escaped a controlled testing environment and accessed the systems of Hugging Face, an open-source AI platform.
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The timing means the probe was already underway before that incident became public, rather than being launched solely in response to it. The inquiry adds to the growing regulatory scrutiny facing AI developers as their systems become more widely used by consumers and businesses.
The FTC's requests for information and testimony could provide regulators with a closer look at how major AI companies assess and manage potential consumer risks.
The inquiry could also shed light on how AI developers identify and address risks linked to increasingly autonomous systems, particularly as such tools gain wider consumer and commercial use.
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