California Assembly passes landmark AI safety bill

Lauren Taylor

CALIFORNIA LAWMAKERS PASSED A GROUNDBREAKING ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE SAFETY BILL, POTENTIALLY ESTABLISHING THE MOST COMPREHENSIVE AI REGULATION IN THE U-S.

IN A 41-TO-9 VOTE THE CALIFORNIA STATE ASSEMBLY PASSED THE SAFE AND SECURE INNOVATION FOR FRONTIER ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE MODELS ACT – ALSO KNOWN AS SB-1047 — MOVING IT TO THE STATE SENATE FOR FINAL APPROVAL BEFORE SENDING IT to GOVERNOR GAVIN NEWSOM’S DESK.

THE LEGISLATION INTRODUCES STRINGENT SAFETY MEASURES FOR AI COMPANIES, INCLUDING PRE-DEPLOYMENT SAFETY TESTING, IMPLEMENTATION OF ROBUST SHUTDOWN CAPABILITIES, AND ONGOING RISK ASSESSMENTS.

AI COMPANIES THAT FAIL TO CONDUCT REQUIRED SAFETY TESTS COULD FACE CIVIL ACTION FROM CALIFORNIA’S ATTORNEY GENERAL IF THEIR AI TECHNOLOGY IS USED TO HARM PEOPLE or property, MARKING A SHIFT FROM TRADITIONAL TECH LIABILITY SHIELDS.

OPPOSITION TO THE BILL IS FIERCE, WITH INDUSTRY SURROGATES LAUNCHING EXTENSIVE LOBBYING CAMPAIGNS.

IN A LETTER WRITTEN BY BAY AREA COUNCIL, SILICON VALLEY LEADERSHIP GROUP AND OTHERS, THE AI BILL “would badly set back artificial intelligence (AI) in California and beyond. It is fundamentally flawed and mistargeted.”

X CEO ELON MUSK SAYS HE BACKS THE LEGISLATION, SAYING AI IS A POTENTIAL RISK TO THE PUBLIC, WRITING ON HIS PLATFORM:

“THIS IS A TOUGH CALL AND WILL MAKE SOME PEOPLE UPSET, BUT, ALL THINGS CONSIDERED, I THINK CALIFORNIA SHOULD PROBABLY PASS THE SB 1047 AI SAFETY BILL.”

CALIFORNIA GOVERNOR GAVIN NEWSOM HAS NOT SHARED WHERE HE STANDS ON THE ISSUE. HE’LL HAVE UNTIL SEPTEMBER 30TH TO DECIDE IF HE WANTS TO SIGN IT INTO LAW if it passes the state senate.

FOR SAN, I’M LT.