Technology companies in development Generative AI – which can respond to prompts with fully formed text, images or audio, as well as perform repetitive tasks with minimal intervention – have been largely reluctant to the legislation, called SB 1047saying it could drive AI companies out of the state and hamper innovation.
Some Democrats in the U.S. Congress, including Rep. Nancy Pelosi, also opposed it. Among the proponents is Tesla CEO Elon Musk, who also runs an artificial intelligence company called xAI and has said he supports the bill.
The measure mandates 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 must also describe methods for disabling AI models if they fail — effectively a kill switch.
The bill also gives the state attorney general the power to sue if developers fail to comply with rules, particularly in the case of an ongoing threat, such as AI taking over government systems like the power grid.
Additionally, the bill requires developers to hire third-party auditors to assess their security practices and provide additional protections to whistleblowers who speak out against AI abuses.
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The bill’s author, Democratic state Sen. Scott Wiener, represents San Francisco, home to OpenAI and many of the startups developing the powerful software. He has said the legislation is needed to protect the public before advances in artificial intelligence become unwieldy or uncontrollable. Martin Casado, a general partner at venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz, said before the vote that he expected Newsom to veto it. “It has the broadest, most bipartisan opposition I’ve ever seen,” he said.
Alphabet’s Google, Microsoft-backed OpenAI and Meta Platforms have all expressed concerns in letters to Wiener. Amazon-backed Anthropic has said the bill’s benefits likely outweigh the costs, though it added that there are still some aspects that seem troubling or ambiguous.
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