California Governor Gavin Newsom Vetoes Safe Innovation for Border ai Models Act (SB 1047) today. In his veto message, Governor Newsom cited multiple factors in his decision, including the burden the bill would have placed on artificial intelligence companies, California's leadership in this space, and a criticism that the bill can be too broad.
“While well-intentioned, SB 1047 does not take into account whether an ai system is deployed in high-risk environments, involves critical decision-making, or uses sensitive data. Instead, the bill applies strict standards to even the most basic functions, as long as they are implemented by a large system. “I don’t think this is the best approach to protecting the public from the real threats posed by technology.”
Newsom writes that the bill could “give the public a false sense of security about control of this fast-moving technology.”
“Smaller, more specialized models may emerge as equally or even more dangerous than the models targeted by SB 1047, at the cost of restricting the very innovation that drives progress for the public good.”
Governor Newsom also writes that he agrees there should be safety protocols and guardrails, as well as “clear and enforceable” consequences for bad actors. However, he states that he does not believe that the State should “settle for a solution that is not based on an empirical analysis of the trajectory of Al's systems and capabilities.”
Here is the full veto message:
It would have applied to covered ai companies doing business in California with a model that costs more than $100 million to train or more than $10 million to tune, adding requirements for developers to implement safeguards such as a “kill switch.” ” and establish protocols for testing. reduce the possibility of disastrous events such as a cyberattack or pandemic. The text also establishes protections for whistleblowers to report violations and allows the AG to sue for damages caused by security incidents.
Changes since its introduction included scrapping proposals for a new regulatory agency and giving the state attorney general power to sue developers for potential incidents before they occur. Most companies covered by the law rejected the legislation, although some muted their criticism after those amendments.
The Chamber of Progress, a coalition representing amazon, Meta and Google, tech-innovation-in-ca/#:~:text=SB%201047%20introduces%20a%20form,challenged%20on%20First%20Amendment%20grounds.”>The law also warned. “it would paralyze innovation.”
Opponents of the bill include former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, San Francisco Mayor London Breed, and eight California Congressional Democrats. On the other hand, vocal supporters include x.com/elonmusk/status/1828205685386936567″>Elon Muskprominent Hollywood names like Mark Hamill, Alyssa Milano, Shonda Rhimes and JJ Abrams, and unions like SAG-AFTRA and SEIU.
