Stanford Computational Antitrust

Natalie Harsdorf, Director General of the Austrian Federal Competition Authority and European Law educator, dives into the evolving landscape of antitrust in Austria. She discusses the integration of computational tools in investigations and the agency’s strategic shift since 2021. Natalie shares her passion for endurance running, illustrating how athletic resilience parallels her career in competition law. They also explore the vital role of international cooperation and the future of competition policy in a digitalized world.

Cary Coglianese, the Edward B. Shils Professor of Law and Political Science at the University of Pennsylvania, dives into the intriguing world of AI in public enforcement. He discusses the shift in AI regulation from rigid 'guardrails' to more flexible 'leashes' that embrace innovation while ensuring safety. Coglianese addresses the balance of AI's efficiencies against ethical standards, highlighting the necessity of human oversight and the implications of recent regulatory developments, including the EU's Digital Markets Act.

Martijn Snoep, Chairman of the Netherlands Authority for Consumers and Markets, shares insights on the revolutionary role of computational antitrust tools in regulatory practices. The conversation dives into the evolution of data units within the ACM, exploring the use of algorithms and web crawlers to monitor market dynamics. Topics like the integration of Generative AI in legal tasks, the importance of public data access, and the need for cross-disciplinary collaboration among legal and data experts reveal a transformative era in antitrust enforcement.

In episode 30, Teodora Groza and Thibault Schrepel talk to Mahmoud A. Momtaz, Chairman of the Egyptian Competition Authority ("ECA") since January 2021. They discuss the challenges and opportunities facing the ECA, its enforcement strategies, and the role of computational antitrust in modern competition law. Follow the Stanford Computational Antitrust project at https://law.stanford.edu/computationalantitrust.

In this episode 29, Thibault Schrepel talks to Philip Hanspach (Bundeskartellamt) about his article entitled "⁠Economics in the Era of Machine Learning — What Do Competition Lawyers Need to Know?".

In this episode 28, Thibault Schrepel talks to Mariateresa Maggiolino (Università Bocconi) about her article entitled "Antitrust Concepts and Artificial Intelligence: The Case of Plausibility".

In episode 27, Thibault Schrepel and Teodora Groza speak with Angela Zhang, Professor of Law at USC and member of the computational antitrust project advisory board, about the complexities of regulating tech – likening it to high-wire walking. They discuss Angela’s latest book, “High Wire”, China's politicized antitrust enforcement, the potential role of computational tools, and how relationships between regulators and firms, such as Alibaba, differ from the West. The episode also explores how Great Power Competition politicizes antitrust enforcement, with implications for the future use of data-driven tools.

In this episode 26, Thibault Schrepel talks to Ulrich Wohak about his article (co-authored with Klaus Gugler and Florian Szücs) entitled “Using Natural Language Processing to Delineate Digital Markets” (freely available at https://law.stanford.edu/computationalantitrust)

Erik Brynjolfsson from Stanford University discusses measuring market dynamism, the digital economy, and AI dynamics. They explore AI's impact on regulations, the value of digital goods, innovations in AI, tech competition dynamics, and intangible assets in the economy.

In episode 24, Thibault Schrepel talks to Cani Fernández, President of the National Commission for Markets and Competition in Spain. They discuss how computational antitrust can help explore the full scope of the consumer welfare standard, the role lawyers can play, where Cani Fernández will invest resources in the coming years, what she has done to ensure that the agency's computer scientists work with lawyers and vice versa, how computational tools can contribute to better coordination between competition law and regulation, how she deals with companies with large or small computational capabilities, and more. We hope you enjoy the conversation. Follow Stanford Computational Antitrust at https://law.stanford.edu/computationalantitrust.