Newsom vetoes first US bill aimed at regulating large-scale artificial intelligence (Video)

California Governor Gavin Newsom vetoed a first-of-its-kind state bill that would potentially enact the most impactful AI regulation in the country.

The measure, known as the Safe and Secure Innovation for Frontier AI Models Act, would require companies that spend more than $100 million to train AI models to take security measures. It aims to prevent potential harms from AI, such as mass fatality events, and involves implementing a “kill switch” to shut down a rogue model completely.

California is home to some of the biggest players in artificial intelligence: OpenAI, Anthropic, Google (GOOG) and Meta (META). However, in his veto message Sunday afternoon, Newsom said SB 1047 was “well-intentioned” but “does not take into account whether an AI system is deployed in high-risk environments, involves critical decision-making, or the use of sensitive technologies.” Instead, the bill imposes strict standards on even the most basic functions as long as a large system uses it. I do not believe this is the best approach to protecting the public from the real threats posed by technology.

With the veto, Newsom announced that he was working with leading experts, including the “godmother of AI” Fei-Fei Li, to establish guardrails around the deployment of GenAI. He also ordered government agencies to expand their assessments of technology-related risks.

Regulation of technology has been a flashpoint in Silicon Valley and beyond. OpenAI, Google and Meta publicly opposed the bill. Antropik, powered by Amazon (AMZN) cautiously supported it after proposing changes to its original version.

More than 100 current and former employees of Google, Meta, OpenAI and Anthropic despite big tech obstruction He called Newsom. He will sign the legislation early this month, citing concerns that “the most powerful AI models could soon pose serious risks.”

More than 125 Hollywood actors, directors and entertainment leaders also urged Newsom to sign the bill, writing: in a letter: “We fully believe in the dazzling potential of AI to be used for good. But we must also be realistic about the risks.”

SB 1047 had to walk a fine line between ensuring responsible use of technology while encouraging innovation in a rapidly changing industry.

Newsom discussed his concerns about SB 1047 with Salesforce (CRM) CEO Marc Benioff at the annual Dreamforce conference earlier this month. “Over the course of a few years, the impact of signing the wrong bills could have a profound impact,” Newsom said, referring to the state’s competitiveness. he said.

“This is a space where we dominate, and I want to continue to dominate. I want to continue to innovate. I want to protect our ecosystem. I want to continue to lead. At the same time, you feel a deep sense of responsibility. Many of us, even the biggest and strongest supporters of this technology, have “To address some of the extreme concerns that I think there are.”

Backers of the legislation include billionaire tech CEO Elon MuskHe owns the major AI modeling company xAI, as well as the so-called “Fathers of Artificial Intelligence” Yoshua Bengio and Geoffrey Hinton.

California state Sen. Scott Wiener, the bill’s primary author, said it’s a reasonable framework for a technology that’s underregulated. Wiener voices the need for strong federal legislation that would create nationwide barriers for all developers.

However, Wiener is not hopeful that the national AI security bill will be implemented in the near future, stating that Congress is “completely paralyzed when it comes to technology policy.” press conference last month.

“Let me be clear — I agree with the author — we cannot afford to wait for a major disaster to occur before taking action to protect the public,” Newsom wrote. We must be content with a solution that is not informed by empirical trajectory analysis of AI systems and capabilities. Ultimately, any framework for effectively regulating AI needs to keep pace with the technology itself.”

The bill was prepared to reshape the future of artificial intelligence, and many technology executives expressed their opinions on this issue.

“There are risks associated with AI; they have less to do with the models themselves and more to do with what the models are allowed to do if left completely unsupervised in the real world,” Affirm said.AFRM) CEO, Max Levchin, he told Yahoo Finance At the Goldman Sachs Communacopia and Technology Conference.

“So I’m not reducing or ignoring the need for controls, nor am I modeling governance, oversight and thoughtful rule-making. I wouldn’t want to ‘shut things down’ to quote another AI doomsayer.”

The bill faced some political opposition from California Democrats, although it passed the state House 48-16 (7 Democrats voted no) and the Senate 30-9 (one Democrat voted no) in August.

Critics of SB 1047 include: eight california House members — Ro Khanna, Zoe Lofgren, Anna G. Eshoo, Scott Peters, Tony Cárdenas, Ami Bera, Nanette Diaz Barragan, Lou Correa — and Newsom’s longtime ally, the former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

Last month, Newsom signed 17 bills related to artificial intelligence. Fighting deepfake elections protecting and regulating content, actors and entertainers through their digital likenesses sexually explicit content created by artificial intelligence, among other measures.

The new set of laws will require developers and social media companies to prevent irresponsible use of the platform by using misleading content.

While this legislation addresses the immediate dangers of AI, SB 1047 proactively addresses some of the most extreme risks posed by advanced models.

Speaking before the United Nations General Assembly on Tuesday, President Joe Biden called on world leaders to establish artificial intelligence standards that protect human lives.

“This is just the tip of the iceberg of what we need to do to manage this new technology,” President Biden said. “There may be no greater test of our leadership in the coming years than how we deal with artificial intelligence.”

Yasmin Khorram is a Senior Reporter at Yahoo Finance. Follow Yasmin on Twitter/X @YasminKhorram and on LinkedIn. Send newsworthy tips to Yasmin: [email protected]

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