California Governor Gavin Newsom vetoed SB 1047, a landmark artificial intelligence (AI) safety bill. The Governor claimed that the bill would stifle innovation, driving AI developers away from the state. Elaborating on his arguments, he stated the bill implements stringent regulations on all AI applications, regardless of complexity or risk level.
Newsom further posited that the bill’s unfiltered restrictions on AI projects could curtail the “very innovation that fuels advancement in favor of the public good. He stated,
“SB 1047 does not take into account whether an Al system is deployed in high-risk environments, involves critical decision-making or the use of sensitive data. Instead, the bill applies stringent standards to even the most basic functions – so long as a large system deploys it.”
The Governor emphasized the necessity of building “workable guardrails” instead of the inconvenient regulations. He highlighted the significance of a nuanced regulatory approach and urged AI experts to focus on “science-based trajectory analysis.” He believes that such scientific regulations could bring safer technological developments.
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What is SB 1047 Bill?
SB 1047 is a controversial AI bill proposed by Senator Scott Wiener. The bill intends to address the risks related to AI. According to the bill, AI developers spending over $100 million would be responsible for the project’s potential harm. For instance, the developers should implement a “kill switch” to shut down or disable their AI models to mitigate extreme risks.
Leading AI players like OpenAI had expressed strong objections to the implementation of the SB 1047 bill. They asserted that the bill could pose severe threats to technological advancements. Similarly, lawyer Dina Blikshteyn raised concerns over the bill’s impact on smaller developers. However, industry experts like Elon Musk and Vitalik Buterin endorsed the bill. They argued that SB 1047 could tackle the increasing AI-related risks.
