California lawmakers have passed a sweeping artificial intelligence bill, SB 1047, that seeks to establish safeguards for tech companies that develop large AI models. If enacted, SB 1047 would radically change the way major AI companies operate, leading to pushback from major players like OpenAI, Meta (META), and Google (GOOG, GOOGLE).
Gov. Gavin Newsom has not indicated whether he plans to veto SB 1047.
In an interview with Yahoo Finance’s Brian Sozzi WednesdaySalesforce (CRM) CEO Marc Benioff stressed the importance of regulation. “When it comes to AI safety, it has to be in everyone’s interest to make sure that these AI models don’t get out of control,” Benioff said.
“I think these ideas are extremely interesting and deserve to be fully evaluated. And it is worth it.”
Democratic Sen. Scott Wiener, who co-author of the billsays the bill codifies voluntary safety assessments that large AI labs, like Meta, have already committed to. The bill requires developers to spend more than $100 million to build an AI model to conduct safety tests before releasing it. They are required to mitigate risks if testing reveals a model has the potential to cause “catastrophic harm.”
Supporters of the bill, including AI “godfathers” Yoshua Bengio and Geoffrey Hinton, say regulation is essential to address the potential dangers posed by AI models. They argue that the government has not done enough to address this threat.
“SB 1047 is a much-needed step to advance long-term safety and innovation in the AI ecosystem, including encouraging AI safety research and development,” Bengio, a professor of computer science at the University of Montreal, told Yahoo Finance.
Tesla (TSLA) Apple CEO Elon Musk, who also owns xAI, expressed support for X this week but said it was a “difficult decision.”
“I think California should probably pass SB 1047 on AI safety. For over 20 years, I have been an advocate for regulating AI, just as we regulate any product/technology that poses a potential risk to the public,” he wrote.
Elon Musk has previously urged AI labs to halt development of systems that can rival human intelligence, citing potential risks to society. However, he has also been highly critical of California state officials.
SB 1047 is co-sponsored by the Center for AI Safety Action Fund, Economic Security California Action, and Encode Justice. “It’s long past time that we hold Big Tech accountable for their outsized influence and unchecked power,” Teri Olle, director of Economic Security California, said at the meeting.
“We need legislative solutions like SB 1047 to reverse the trend and ensure that the public can decide how critical technology benefits society as a whole.”
A poll released this week by the Artificial Intelligence Policy Institute, a nonprofit that advocates for the safe development of AI, found that 7 in 10 Californians support the bill and more than 60% of respondents said they would partly blame Governor Newsom for future AI-related incidents if he vetoed it.
San Francisco Mayor London Breed, a longtime Wiener ally, announced that she opposed the bill. “I share your desire for AI to develop in a safe and sustainable manner, and I agree with the overall intent of your legislation,” Breed wrote in a letter to Wiener. “With more time and collaboration, I am confident that we can find a solution that addresses many of the concerns raised in recent months while allowing this emerging field to develop in a safe and sustainable manner.”
Breed joins a growing list of California Democrats in Congress who oppose the measure, including former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Reps. Ro Khanna, Zoe Lofgren, Anna Eshoo, Scott Peters, Tony Cárdenas, Ami Bera, Nanette Diaz Barragan and Lou Correa.
The bill has been amended several times to assuage the fears of AI opponents, including those backed by Amazon (AMZN) Anthropogenic. Key amendments include eliminating the state regulatory agency formerly called the Frontier Model Division and removing criminal penalties, while civil penalties remain.
Additionally, if an open source developer spends less than $10 million to refine an existing model, liability falls to the original developer of the model. The attorney general’s ability to seek civil penalties is limited to situations where “harm has occurred or there is an imminent threat to public safety.”
Governor Newsom has until September 30 to sign or veto the bill. When asked if he was confident the bill would pass, Wiener said, “The governor has made statements that are very consistent with my own thinking: Regulation may be appropriate in this case, and we want to make sure that we also foster innovation.”
Yasmin Khorram is a senior journalist at Yahoo Finance. Follow Yasmin on Twitter/X @Yasmin Khorram and on LinkedInSend interesting information to Yasmin: yasmin.khorram@yahooinc.com
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