Big Tech wants AI regulated. Why are they opposing an AI bill in California?

California lawmakers are set to vote on a bill this week that would broadly regulate how artificial intelligence It is being developed and deployed in California despite widespread opposition from several tech giants.

Here’s some background on the bill, known as SB 1047, and why it has faced backlash from Silicon Valley technologists and some lawmakers:

What does the bill do?

Introduced by State Senator Scott Wiener, a DemocratThe proposal would mandate safety testing for many of the most advanced AI models that cost more than $100 million to develop or require a defined amount of computing power. AI software developers operating in the state would also have to outline methods for shutting down AI models if they fail, effectively a kill switch.

The bill would also give the state attorney general the power to sue if developers fail to comply, particularly in the case of a continuing threat, such as the AI taking control of government systems like the power grid.

Additionally, the bill would require developers to hire third-party auditors to assess their security practices and provide additional protections to whistleblowers who speak out against AI abuses.

What have lawmakers said?

SB 1047 has already passed the state Senate by a vote of 32-1. It was approved by the state Assembly’s appropriations committee last week, setting up a vote in the full Assembly. If it passes before the end of the legislative session on Aug. 31, it would go to Gov. Gavin Newsom to sign or veto by Sept. 30.

Wiener, who represents San Francisco, home of Open AI And many of the startups developing the powerful software have said the legislation is needed to protect the public before advances in AI become unwieldy or uncontrollable.

However, a group of California congressional Democrats oppose the bill, including one in San Francisco. Nancy Pelosi; Ro Khanna, whose congressional district encompasses much of Silicon Valley; and Zoe Lofgren, of San Jose.

This week, Pelosi called SB 1047 ill-informed and said it could do more harm than good. In an open letter last week, Democrats said the bill could drive developers out of the state and threaten so-called open-source artificial intelligence models, which are based on code that is freely available for anyone to use or modify.

What do technology leaders say?

Tech companies developing AI — which can respond to prompts with fully formed text, images or audio, as well as perform repetitive tasks with minimal intervention — have called for stricter limits on AI deployment. They have cited risks that the software could one day evade human intervention and cause cyber attacksamong other concerns. But they also largely opposed SB 1047.

Wiener revised the bill to appease tech companies, drawing in part on input from artificial intelligence startup Anthropic, backed by Amazon and Alphabet. Among other changes, he removed the creation of a government AI oversight committee.

Wiener also imposed criminal penalties for perjury, although civil lawsuits can still be filed.

Alphabet’s Google and Goal They have voiced their concerns in letters to Wiener. Meta said the bill threatens to make the state unfavorable to the development and deployment of AI. Facebook parent company chief scientist Yann LeCun in a July 10 post called the bill potentially detrimental to research efforts.

OpenAI, whose ChatGPT He is credited with accelerating the frenzy around AI since its widespread release in late 2022, and has said AI should be regulated by the federal government and that SB 1047 creates an uncertain legal environment.

In a letter to Wiener, OpenAI said it opposes SB 1047 because it threatens the growth of AI and could cause entrepreneurs and engineers to leave the state.

Of particular concern is the possibility that the bill could apply to open source AI models. Technologists Analysts believe open source models are important for building less risky AI applications more quickly, but Meta and others have expressed concern that they could be held responsible for policing open source models if the bill passes. Wiener has said he supports open source models, and one of the recent amendments to the bill raised the bar for open source models that are covered by its provisions.

The bill also has supporters in the tech sector. Geoffrey Hinton, widely regarded as the “godfather of AI,” former OpenAI employee Daniel Kokotajlo and researcher Yoshua Bengio have all said they support the bill.

Disclaimer: This story has been published from a news agency source without any modifications to the text. Only the headline has been changed.