California Governor Vetoes Major AI Safety Bill

California Governor Gavin Newsom Vetoes Safe Innovation for Border AI Models Act (SB 1047) today. in your veto messageGovernor Newsom cited multiple factors in his decision, including the burden the bill would have placed on artificial intelligence companies, California’s leadership in this space, and a criticism that the bill may be too broad.

“While well-intentioned, SB 1047 does not take into account whether an AI system is deployed in high-risk environments, involves critical decision-making, or uses sensitive data. Instead, the bill applies strict standards to even the most basic functions, as long as they are implemented by a large system. “I don’t think this is the best approach to protecting the public from the real threats posed by technology.”

Newsom writes that the bill could “give the public a false sense of security about control of this fast-moving technology.”

“Smaller, more specialized models may emerge as equally or even more dangerous than the models targeted by SB 1047, at the cost of restricting the very innovation that drives progress for the public good.”

The Governor says he agrees there should be safety protocols and guardrails, as well as “clear and enforceable” consequences for bad actors. However, he states that he does not believe that the State should “settle for a solution that is not based on an empirical analysis of the trajectory of Al’s systems and capabilities.”

Here is the full veto message:

in a publish in XSen. Scott Wiener, the bill’s lead author, called the veto “a setback for everyone who believes in oversight of massive corporations that are making critical decisions” that affect public safety and well-being and “the future of the planet.” ”.

“This veto leaves us with the troubling reality that companies seeking to create extremely powerful technology face no binding restrictions from American policymakers, particularly given the continued paralysis of Congress over regulating the technology industry in any way.” “significant”.

In late August, SB 1047 landed on Governor Newsom’s desk. set to become the strictest legal framework around AI in the US.with a deadline to sign or veto it as of September 30.

It would have applied to covered AI companies doing business in California with a model that costs more than $100 million to train or more than $10 million to tune, adding requirements for developers to implement safeguards such as a “kill switch.” ” and establish protocols for testing. reduce the possibility of disastrous events such as a cyberattack or pandemic. The text also establishes protections for whistleblowers to report violations and allows the AG to sue for damages caused by security incidents.

Changes since its introduction included scrapping proposals for a new regulatory agency and giving the state attorney general power to sue developers for potential incidents before they occur. Most companies covered by the law rejected the legislation, although some muted their criticism after those amendments.

In a letter to Senator Wiener, author of the bill, Jason Kwon, chief strategy officer at OpenAI, said SB 1047 would slow progress and that the federal government should be responsible for regulating AI. Meanwhile, Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei he wrote to the governor after the bill was amended, listing the perceived pros and cons and saying, “…the new SB 1047 has been substantially improved, to the point where we believe its benefits likely outweigh its costs.”

The Chamber of Progress, a coalition representing Amazon, Meta and Google, The law also warned. “it would paralyze innovation.”

Meta public affairs manager Jamie Radice emailed Meta’s statement on the veto to The edge:

“We are pleased that Governor Newsom vetoed SB1047. This bill would have stifled innovation in AI, harmed business growth and job creation, and broken the state’s long tradition of encouraging open source development. “We support responsible AI regulations and remain committed to partnering with policymakers to promote better approaches.”

Opponents of the bill include former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, San Francisco Mayor London Breed, and eight California Congressional Democrats. On the other hand, vocal supporters include Elon Muskprominent Hollywood names such as Mark Hamill, Alyssa Milano, Shonda Rhimes and JJ Abrams, and unions including SAG-AFTRA and SEIU.

The federal government is also studying ways to regulate AI. In May, the Senate proposed a $32 billion roadmap covering several areas that lawmakers should look at, including the impact of AI on elections, national security, copyrighted content, and more.