Skip to content
Longterm Wiki
Back

NPR: California Gov. Newsom vetoes AI safety bill that divided Silicon Valley

web

Key news event in AI governance: Newsom's veto of SB 1047 in September 2024 was a pivotal moment for US state-level AI safety regulation, reflecting ongoing tensions between safety advocates and the tech industry.

Metadata

Importance: 62/100news articlenews

Summary

California Governor Gavin Newsom vetoed SB 1047, a landmark AI safety bill that would have imposed safety requirements on developers of large frontier AI models. The veto highlighted deep divisions within Silicon Valley between AI safety advocates and tech industry opponents, and raised broader questions about state-level AI governance.

Key Points

  • SB 1047 would have required developers of large AI models to implement safety protocols and conduct risk assessments before deployment
  • The bill divided Silicon Valley, with some AI safety researchers supporting it and major tech companies opposing it as overly burdensome
  • Newsom argued the bill was flawed, targeting model size rather than actual risk, and could stifle innovation in California
  • The veto was seen as a significant setback for state-level AI safety regulation in the US
  • The episode illustrated the political and economic tensions surrounding AI governance at the state level

Cited by 2 pages

Cached Content Preview

HTTP 200Fetched Apr 9, 20268 KB
California Gov. Newsom vetoes AI safety bill that divided Silicon Valley : NPR

 

 

 
 
 
 

 Mar
 APR
 May
 

 
 

 
 07
 
 

 
 

 2025
 2026
 2027
 

 
 
 

 

 

 
 
success

 
fail

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 

 About this capture
 

 

 

 

 

 

 
COLLECTED BY

 

 

 
 
Collection: GDELT Project

 

 

 

 

 
TIMESTAMPS

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Wayback Machine - https://web.archive.org/web/20260407133814/https://www.npr.org/2024/09/20/nx-s1-5119792/newsom-ai-bill-california-sb1047-tech

 

 Accessibility links 
 
Skip to main content

 
Keyboard shortcuts for audio player

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
 

 
 Open Navigation Menu
 
 

 

 
-->
 
 
 

 

 

 

 Newsletters
 

 

 

 

 NPR Shop
 

 

 
 

 

 

 
 
 Close Navigation Menu
 
 
 
 

 
Home

 

 

 

 News
 Expand/collapse submenu for News
 

 
 
National

 
World

 
Politics

 
Business

 
Health

 
Science

 
Climate

 
Race

 
 

 

 

 Culture
 Expand/collapse submenu for Culture
 

 
 
Books

 
Movies

 
Television

 
Pop Culture

 
Food

 
Art & Design 

 
Performing Arts

 
Life Kit

 
Gaming

 
 

 

 

 Music
 Expand/collapse submenu for Music
 

 

 
 Tiny Desk
 

 
 New Music Friday
 

 
 All Songs Considered
 

 
 Music Features
 

 
 Live Sessions
 

 
 The Best Music of 2025
 

 

 

 

 Podcasts & Shows
 Expand/collapse submenu for Podcasts & Shows
 

 

 Daily
 
 

 
 
 Morning Edition
 
 

 

 
 
 Weekend Edition Saturday
 
 

 

 
 
 Weekend Edition Sunday
 
 

 

 
 
 All Things Considered
 
 

 

 
 
 Up First
 
 

 

 
 
 Here & Now
 
 

 

 
 
 NPR Politics Podcast
 
 

 
 Featured

 

 
 
 Wait Wait...Don't Tell Me!
 

 
 
 Fresh Air
 

 
 
 Wild Card with Rachel Martin
 

 
 
 It's Been a Minute
 

 
 
 Planet Money
 

 
 

 
 
 Get NPR+
 
 

 
More Podcasts & Shows

 
 

 

 

 

 Search
 

 

 

 

 Newsletters
 

 

 

 

 NPR Shop
 

 

 

 
 

 

 

 

 
 

 
 
 
 
 

 

 
 Tiny Desk
 

 
 New Music Friday
 

 
 All Songs Considered
 

 
 Music Features
 

 
 Live Sessions
 

 
 The Best Music of 2025
 

 
 

 

 

 

 
 
About NPR

 
Diversity

 
Support

 
Careers

 
Press

 
Ethics

 
 

 

 California Gov. Newsom vetoes AI safety bill that divided Silicon Valley The measure, known as SB 1047, was one of the nation’s most far-reaching regulations on the booming AI industry. It would have held AI companies legally liable for harms caused by AI and enabled a "kill switch" if systems went rogue.

 

 

 Technology
 

 
California Gov. Newsom vetoes AI safety bill that divided Silicon Valley

 
 
 

 

 

 

 
 September 29, 20246:18 PM ET
 

 

 Heard on Morning Edition
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
 

 
 

 

 
 Bobby Allyn
 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
Newsom AI Bill

 

 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 Listen
 
 
 · 
 3:40
 
 
 
 

 
 3:40
 
 

 
 

 
 
 Transcript
 
 
 
 Toggle more options
 
 
 
Download
 

 

 Embed

 

 
 
 
 Embed
 ">
 

 
 <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/nx-s1-5119792/nx-s1-ffc67d7a-ffdb-4787-a77b-7ecf3

... (truncated, 8 KB total)
Resource ID: bca8b99da9428cf5 | Stable ID: sid_lJvb4viQz6