California AI Bill: California AI Bill Divides Silicon Valley

A bill aimed at regulating powerful artificial intelligence models is under consideration in the California legislature, despite protests that it could scupper the technology it seeks to control.

“With Congress paralyzed by AI regulation…California must act to stay ahead of the foreseeable risks posed by the rapid advance of AI while simultaneously fostering innovation,” he said. Democratic State Senator Scott Wiener of San Francisco, sponsor of the bill.

But critics, including Democratic members of the US Congress, argue that threats of punitive measures against developers in a nascent field risk stifling innovation.

“The view of many of us in Congress is that SB 1047 is well-intentioned but ill-informed,” influential Democratic Rep. Nancy Pelosi of California said in a statement, noting that leading members of the party have shared their concerns with Wiener.

“While we want California to be a leader in artificial intelligence in a way that protects consumers, data, intellectual property and more, SB 1047 is more harmful than helpful to that goal,” Pelosi said.

Pelosi noted that Stanford University computer science professor Fei-Fei Li, whom she referred to as the “Godmother of AI” for her status in the field, is among those opposing the bill.

– Harm or help? –

The bill, called the Safe Innovation for Frontier Models of Artificial Intelligence Act, will not solve what it purports to fix and will “deeply harm AI academia, small tech, and the open source community,” Li wrote earlier this month on X. Small tech refers to startups and small companies, as well as researchers and entrepreneurs.

Weiner said the legislation aims to ensure the safe development of large-scale AI models by setting safety standards for developers of systems that cost more than $100 million to train.

The bill requires developers of large “frontier” AI models to take precautions such as conducting pre-deployment testing, simulating hacker attacks, installing cybersecurity measures and providing protection for whistleblowers.

Recent changes to the bill include replacing criminal penalties for violations with civil penalties such as fines.

Wiener argues that AI safety and innovation are not mutually exclusive, and that the tweaks to the bill have addressed some of critics’ concerns.

OpenAI, the creator of ChatGPT, has also spoken out against the bill, saying it would prefer national rules, fearing a chaotic patchwork of AI regulations across US states.

At least 40 states have introduced bills this year to regulate AI, and half a dozen have adopted resolutions or enacted laws targeting the technology, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.

OpenAI said the California bill could also drive innovators out of the state, home to Silicon Valley.

But Anthropic, another player in the generative AI sector that could potentially be affected by the measure, has said that after some welcome modifications, the bill has more benefits than flaws.

The bill also has high-profile supporters within the AI ​​community.

“Powerful AI systems hold incredible promise, but the risks are also very real and must be taken very seriously,” said computer scientist Geoffrey Hinton, the “Godfather of AI,” in a Fortune op-ed cited by Wiener.

“SB 1047 takes a very sensible approach to balancing those concerns.”

According to Hinton, it’s critical to regulate AI with “real force,” and California is a natural place to start, having been a launching pad for the technology.

Meanwhile, professors and students at the California Institute of Technology are urging people to sign a letter against the bill.

“We believe this proposed legislation poses a significant threat to our ability to advance research by imposing burdensome and unrealistic regulations on AI development,” CalTech professor Anima Anandkumar told X.