Senator Wiener's Landmark AI Safety Bill SB 1047 Passes California Assembly

Press Release 
 
 
 Senator Wiener’s Landmark AI Bill Passes Assembly

 
 
 August 28, 2024 
 
 
 SACRAMENTO – Today, the landmark California AI safety bill, SB 1047 by Senator Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco), passed the California State Assembly in a bipartisan 49-15 vote. The bill enacts common sense, first-in-the-nation safeguards to protect society from AI being used to conduct cyberattacks on critical infrastructure; develop chemical, nuclear or biological weapons; or unleash automated crime. The bill now returns to the Senate for a final confirmation vote this week before heading to the Governor.

 “Innovation and safety can go hand in hand—and California is leading the way,” said Senator Wiener. “With this vote, the Assembly has taken the truly historic step of working proactively to ensure an exciting new technology protects the public interest as it advances. SB 1047 is a light touch, commonsense measure that codifies commitments that the largest AI companies have already voluntarily made. I’m extremely grateful to the board coalition of leaders from across industry, academia, and civil society that have called on policymakers to lead.”

 SB 1047 is supported by both of the top two most cited AI researchers of all time: the “Godfathers of AI,” Geoffrey Hinton and Yoshua Bengio. Today, Professor Bengio published an op-ed in Fortune in support of the bill. 

 Of SB 1047, Professor Hinton, former AI lead at Google, said, “Forty years ago when I was training the first version of the AI algorithms behind tools like ChatGPT, no one - including myself - would have predicted how far AI would progress. Powerful AI systems bring incredible promise, but the risks are also very real and should be taken extremely seriously. 

 “SB 1047 takes a very sensible approach to balance those concerns. I am still passionate about the potential for AI to save lives through improvements in science and medicine, but it’s critical that we have legislation with real teeth to address the risks. California is a natural place for that to start, as it is the place this technology has taken off.”

 Commenting on the floor vote, Nathan Calvin, Senior Policy Counsel at CAIS Action Fund , said, “We will be safer with SB 1047. The vast majority of Californians support this bill and it’s great to see lawmakers agree. By putting in place safety testing requirements and guardrails, SB 1047 would drive both safety and innovation at the frontier of generative AI. The bill reflects months of constructive engagement across industry, academic, and open-source stakeholders. By codifying it in law, California will lead on responsible AI innovation.” 

 Dan Hendrycks, Executive Director of CAIS , added, “The floor vote is a landmark moment for AI safety. As models become more powerful, we need workable solutions to mitigate the risk of critical harm. As home to a majority of the top AI labs, California is set to advance a safer AI ecosystem for all.”

 SB 1047 would require developers 

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