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Newsom vetoes controversial AI safety bill SB 1047
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This veto was a pivotal moment in US AI governance debates, representing the defeat of one of the most ambitious state-level AI safety regulatory efforts and shaping subsequent policy discussions about how and where to regulate frontier AI models.
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Summary
California Governor Gavin Newsom vetoed SB 1047, a landmark AI safety bill that would have imposed safety requirements on large AI models. The veto was controversial, drawing criticism from AI safety advocates and praise from major tech companies who argued the bill was overly broad and could stifle innovation.
Key Points
- •SB 1047 would have required developers of large AI models to implement safety protocols and conduct risk assessments before deployment
- •Newsom argued the bill was flawed because it applied blanket regulations regardless of whether AI systems were actually deployed in high-risk contexts
- •Major AI companies including Google and Meta lobbied against the bill, while AI safety researchers and some policymakers strongly supported it
- •The veto was seen as a major setback for state-level AI regulation and emboldened federal-first approaches to AI governance
- •The debate highlighted tensions between AI safety concerns and fears of regulatory overreach hampering US AI competitiveness
Cited by 1 page
| Page | Type | Quality |
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| Safe and Secure Innovation for Frontier Artificial Intelligence Models Act | Policy | 66.0 |
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Skip to main content Politics Gov. Newsom vetoes controversial AI safety bill
The legislation would have established requirements for companies to prevent their technology from being used for harm.
Gov. Gavin Newsom has vetoed a controversial bill that would have regulated AI companies. | Source: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images By Priya Anand Tech Culture Reporter Updated Sep. 30, 2024 • 9:16am Published Sep. 29, 2024 • 1:38pm Share Share
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Close share menu Gov. Gavin Newsom has vetoed SB 1047, a controversial bill that would have established requirements for artificial intelligence companies to prevent their technology from being used for harm.
“I do not believe this is the best approach to protecting the public from real threats posed by the technology,” Newsom wrote Sunday in a veto message (opens in new tab) .
The bill, introduced by state Sen. Scott Wiener, D-San Francisco, targeted firms that spent $100 million or more training AI models. It had become a flashpoint in Silicon Valley and national politics.
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Wiener called the veto a setback for oversight of massive corporations. In a statement Sunday afternoon, he also said it would have been helpful to hear the governor’s input before he killed the bill but that he’s glad to see Newsom acknowledge AI’s risks.
“This veto is a missed opportunity for California to once again lead on innovative tech regulation — just as we did around data privacy and net neutrality — and we are all less safe as a result,” Wiener added.
Congressmember Zoe Lofgren, D-San Jose, who helms the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Science, Space and Technology, applauded Newsom’s veto.
“As I have said in my letters on the matter, any AI risk framework should be based on empirical data and fit for purpose,” she wrote in a prepared statement. “I also believe this is an issue that should be handled at the federal level.”
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In the same announcement about the veto, Newsom also noted that he signed 17 AI-related bills over the last month. He said California would work with experts to develop guardrails for artificial intelligence models and figure out how to harness “their capabilities and attendant risks.”
Newsom also said he would require the California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services to assess the safety risks AI could pose to critical infrastructure, “including those that could lead to mass casualty events” or affect water systems.
Elon Musk had called the bill necessary despite his frequent criticisms o
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