Digital Ecosystems and Agentic AI: Geoeconomics, Law and Business Strategy Perspectives
A UCL Faculty of Laws ASCOLA Side-Event organised by UCL Centre for Law, Economics and Society
About the conference
This conference explores the transformation of digital ecosystems at the intersection of geoeconomics, competition law, and business strategy, with a particular focus on the emerging role of agentic AI. As digital markets evolve from platform-centric models to complex, multi-layered ecosystems characterised by data interdependence, complementary capabilities, and autonomous decision-making agents, traditional analytical and regulatory frameworks face growing strain.
The first panel situates these developments within the broader shift towards a “security state” in economic governance, where concerns over technological sovereignty, resilience, and strategic dependency increasingly shape foreign direct investment screening, foreign subsidies control, and competition enforcement. This geoeconomic turn raises fundamental questions about the objectives and limits of competition law in digitally mediated markets.
The second panel examines the future of digital platform regulation through a comparative global lens, assessing the convergence and divergence of regulatory approaches across jurisdictions, including the EU, UK, US, and key Asian economies. Particular attention is paid to the move from ex post enforcement to ex ante regimes, particularly focusing on how the EU and UK experience may provide useful insights for jurisdictions in Asia that either have adopted some form of ex ante regulation (Japan) or have been envisaging to adopt one or specific competition law tools for the digital economy (South Korea, India, China).
The final panel turns to the rise of agentic AI systems – autonomous, goal-oriented digital agents capable of coordinating, learning, and acting within and across platforms – and their implications for competition law and policy. Building on recent scholarship, the discussion considers how agentic AI may reconfigure market power, blur the boundaries between firm and market, and enable new forms of strategic behaviour, including algorithmic coordination and ecosystem-level leveraging. These developments call for a reassessment of core competition law concepts such as dominance, agreement, and foreclosure, together with a rethinking of the regulatory tools and remedies deployed to address them, and for a closer integration between legal analysis, business strategy, and enforcement design.
Bringing together leading academics, practitioners, and policymakers, the event aims to advance a more integrated understanding of competition in digital ecosystems, highlighting the need for adaptive, interdisciplinary, and globally informed regulatory responses.
Conference Participants
- Dr Konstantina Bania – Partner, Geradin Partners and Senior Lecturer in Commercial and Private Law, Brunel University of London
- Dr Cristina Caffara - UCL, Faculty of Laws
- Avv. Karan S. Chandhiok – Chandhiok & Mahajan, Advocates and Solicitors
- Timothy Cowen – Partner, Preiskel & Co
- Todd Davies – UCL, Faculty of Laws
- Sara Fish, Harvard University
- Prof. Kazuhiko Fuchikawa - Keio University, Faculty of Law
- Dr Anush Ganesh – University of Leeds, School of Law
- Av. Dr Gönenç Gürkaynak – ELIG Gürkaynak Attorneys-at-Law; UCL Faculty of Laws / CLES
- Dr Liyang Hou – KoGuan School of Law, Shanghai Jiao Tong University
- Prof. Ioannis Kokkoris - CCLS, Queen Mary University of London
- Thibault Larger – Amazon, Head of academic engagement and partnerships, economic policy, International Public Policy
- Dr Oliver Latham – Vice President, Charles River Associates (European Competition Practice)
- Dr Sangyun Lee – Osaka Metropolitan University
- Dr Liang Li – China University of Political Science and Law
- Prof. Ioannis Lianos – UCL, Faculty of Laws
- Dr Stavros Makris – UCL Faculty of Laws
- Dr Despoina Mantzari – UCL, Faculty of Laws
- Dr Jasper van den Boom - Leiden University, Faculty of Law
- Prof. Dina Waked – Sciences Po Law School
Dr Bowen Wang – Peking University E-commerce Law Centre
Organisers and Supporter
Prof. Ioannis Lianos – UCL Faculty of Laws
Dr Despoina Mantzari – UCL Faculty of Laws
Dr Stavros Makris – UCL Faculty of Laws
This conference is supported by
Picture by Zyanya Citlalli on Unsplash
Programme
12:45 – 1:15 PM | Registration & Welcome coffee
1:15 – 2:45 PM | Panel 1: The New Geoeconomics and the Rise of the Security State
Implications for Foreign Direct Investment Screening, Foreign Subsidies Regulation, and Competition Law in the Digital Economy
Chair: Dr Despoina Mantzari (UCL, Faculty of Laws)
Speakers Include:
- Prof. Ioannis Kokkoris (CCLS, Queen Mary University of London)
- Prof. Ioannis Lianos (UCL Faculty of Laws)
- Prof. Dina Waked (Sciences Po Law School; Dean, Sciences Po School of Research)
- Dr Bowen Wang (Peking University E-commerce Law Centre)
2:45 – 3:00 PM | Coffee Break
3:00 – 4:45 PM | Panel 2: The Future of Digital Platforms Competition Regulation
A Global Comparative Perspective
Chair: Dr Stavros Makris (UCL, Faculty of Laws)
Speakers Include:
- Timothy Cowen (Preiskel & Co)
- Prof. Kazuhiko Fuchikawa (Faculty of Law, Keio University)
- Dr Anush Ganesh (University of Leeds)
- Prof. Liyang Hou (Shanghai Jiao Tong University)
- Thibault Larger (Amazon)
- Dr Sangyun Lee (Korea University)
- Dr Jasper van den Boom (Leiden University)
4:45 – 4:50 PM | Stretching Break
4:50 – 6:30 PM | Panel 3: The World of Moltbook
Agentic AI and Competition Law & Policy
Chair: Prof Ioannis Lianos (UCL)
Speakers Include:
- Dr Konstantina Bania (Partner, Geradin Partners) – Agentic AI & Competition Law and Policy
- Dr Cristina Caffara (UCL, Faculty of Laws)
- Timothy Cowen (Preiskel & Co)
- Todd Davies (UCL) – Moltbook and competition law
- Sara Fish (Harvard University)
- Av. Dr Gönenç Gürkaynak (ELIG Gürkaynak Attorneys-at-Law; UCL Faculty of Laws / CLES)
- Oliver Latham (CRA)
6:30 PM End of the Conference
Ticket prices:
- Academics, ASCOLA members and public sector participants: £30
- Private sector participants: £45
- UCL students: Free attendance (spaces are limited)
Valentine Korah Laws Memorial Fund
The Valentine Korah Laws Memorial Fund honours the memory of a much loved exceptional scholar and advocate. Explore the opportunities that we believe best honour the spirit Valentine Korah embodied, and the legacy she left at UCL Laws. The new fund will:
- support the Valentine Korah Scholarship
- support an annual Valentine Korah Prize in competition law for undergraduates
- support a Valentine Korah Collaboration Space in Bentham House
- support an annual Valentine Korah Lecture
- support the creation of academic positions in competition law or policy
View full details of the opportunities available and how to donate can be found at:
https://www.ucl.ac.uk/laws/remembering-professor-valentine-korah
Book your space
Book your spaceFurther information
Ticketing
Pre-booking essential
Cost
£45.00
Concessions
Free of charge for students
Concession for academics, ASCOLA members and public sector participants