In summary
In California, a bill that would require makers of large-scale AI systems to test for potential harms has nearly passed the legislature, but it could face a veto from Governor Gavin Newsom.
Welcome to CalMatters, the only nonprofit newsroom dedicated to covering the issues that affect all Californians. Subscribe to WhatMatters to receive breaking news and commentary on California's most important issues.
California lawmakers today took a crucial vote to pass a controversial bill that would require companies that build or improve powerful artificial intelligence to test it for its ability to cause significant harm to society.
The House passed the bill 41-9 late Wednesday afternoon, following a 32-1 vote in the Senate in May. The bill needs one more vote in the Senate to agree to House amendments before it can reach Gov. Gavin Newsom.
Under Senate Bill 1047, any company that spends $100 million to train an AI model or $10 million to modify an AI model would be required to test the model for capabilities that could enable cybersecurity or infrastructure attacks, or the development of chemical, biological, radiological, or nuclear weapons.
Eight California senators representing districts took the unusual step of urging Governor Newsom to veto the bill earlier this month. It is unclear whether the governor will veto it. In May, Governor Newsom said at a generative AI symposium mandated by an executive order he signed, that California must respond to calls for regulation but avoid overregulation. California is home to many of the world's leading AI companies.
The bill has a strong line of supporters and opponents, including companies like Google, Meta, ChatGPT developer OpenAI, startup incubator Y Combinator, and Fei-Fei Li, an advisor to President Joe Biden and co-organizer of the Newsom-mandated Generative AI Symposium. They argue that the costs of complying with the bill will hurt the industry, especially startups, and that fear of legal liability from the bill will prevent companies from releasing open-source AI tools.
The bill is backed by whistleblowers who formerly worked at OpenAI, Anthropic, a company co-founded by a former OpenAI employee, as well as Twitter CEO Elon Musk, who helped found OpenAI, and frequently-quoted AI researcher Yoshua Bengio. They argue that AI tools cause significant harm and that the federal government has not done enough to address those harms, including through regulation.
The bill's author, Democratic Sen. Scott Wiener of San Francisco, said SB 1047 aims to codify safety testing that companies have already agreed to with President Biden and other national leaders.
Become a CalMatters member today to stay informed, strengthen our nonpartisan news and spread knowledge across California.
“With this vote, Congress has taken a truly historic step to work aggressively to protect the public interest as exciting new technologies advance,” Wiener said in a press release Wednesday.
Last year, major AI companies signed voluntary agreements with the White House and government leaders in Germany, South Korea and the UK to test their AI models for dangerous capabilities. In response to OpenAI's opposition to the bill, Wiener dismissed claims that the passage of SB 1047 would cause companies to leave the state as a “stale” argument.
Weiner said similar arguments were made when California introduced its net neutrality and data privacy laws in 2018, but those predictions did not come to fruition.
Critics of the bill, including OpenAI, have said it would be better for Congress to regulate AI rather than regulating it at the state level. Wiener said Monday he agrees, saying Congress probably wouldn't have proposed SB 1047 if it had done so. He added that Congress is paralyzed and “hasn't passed any major tech regulation since the 1990s, other than banning TikTok.”
Learn more about the lawmakers mentioned in this article.
SB 1047 underwent several amendments before passing. Ari Kagan, co-founder and co-sponsor of AI toolmaker Momentum, told lawmakers in July that passing SB 1047 was necessary to prevent AI disasters like Chernobyl and Three Mile Island. Earlier this month, she told CalMatters that an amendment to eliminate the Frontier Models division, which was originally part of the bill, weakened the bill, but said she still supported passing it.
In addition to SB 1047, the California Legislature earlier this week moved to pass a bill that would require major online platforms like Facebook to remove election-related deepfakes and create a working group to issue guidance to schools on how to use AI safely. Other AI policy bills up for votes this week include a bill to empower the Civil Rights Division to fight automated discrimination, a bill requiring creators to get permission before using the voices, bodies or facial likenesses of the deceased in any capacity, and additional measures to protect voters from deceptive deepfakes.
In accordance with the executive order on generative AI, the California Department of Government Operations is expected to release a report in the coming weeks on how AI could harm vulnerable communities.
“CalMatters sets a high standard, providing hard-hitting reporting and expert journalists who ask the tough questions and hold leaders accountable.”
Marisela, Montrose
Featured CalMatters Members
Our members make our mission possible.
div{flex-basis: unset !important;flex-grow: 1 !important;}.single-post .cm-cta.cm-cta-testimonial h6{text-align: left;}.cm-cta.cm-cta -testimonial .cm-cta-center-col{align-items: center !important;gap: 12px;}.cm-cta.cm-cta-testimonial .primary-cols.wp-block-columns{gap: 40px;} .cm-cta.cm-cta-testimonial .btn-col{flex-basis: fit-content;flex-grow: 0;}.cm-cta.cm-cta-testimonial .cm-cta-center-col > div {flex-basis: auto;}.cm-cta.cm-cta-testimonial .wp-block-buttons{min-width: 98px;}@media screen and (max-width: 782px){.single .cm-cta .cm-cta-testimonial .cm-cta-center-col > div{flex-basis : min-content;}.cm-cta.cm-cta-testimonial > .wp-block-group__inner-container{grid-template-columns: auto;}.cm-cta.cm-cta-testimonial .wp-block- button.btn-light .wp-block-button__link{padding: 7px 24px;}div.cm-cta.cm-cta-testimonial{padding: 16px;}.cm-cta.cm-cta-testimonial h6{text-alignment: left;}.cm-cta.cm-cta-testimonial .primary-cols.wp-block-columns,.cm-cta.cm-cta-testimonial .cm-cta-center-col.is-not-stacked-on-mobile{gap: 16px;}.cm-cta. cm-cta-testimonial .btn-02-detail-05{font-size: 12px;line-height: 16px;}.cm-cta.cm-cta-testimonial .mob-p-12{padding: 12px;}} ))>
Source link
