California’s Draconian AI Bill: The End of Innovation as We Know It?
In a shocking move, the California State Assembly has passed the Safe and Secure Innovation for Frontier Artificial Intelligence Models Act (SB 1047), a bill that will stifle innovation and suffocate the AI industry. The bill, which has been met with fierce resistance from industry giants like OpenAI and Anthropic, is a blatant attempt to regulate the AI industry out of existence.
According to Senator Scott Wiener, the bill’s author, SB 1047 is a "reasonable" measure that asks large AI labs to test their models for catastrophic safety risks. But critics argue that the bill is overly broad and will unfairly target small, open-source AI developers. The bill’s requirements, including the need to implement safeguards to prevent "unsafe post-training modifications" and maintain a testing procedure to evaluate the risk of "causing or enabling a critical harm," are nothing short of draconian.
The bill’s critics, including OpenAI and Anthropic, have pointed out that the bill’s language is vague and could be used to criminalize even the most well-intentioned AI developers. The bill’s proponents, on the other hand, claim that it is necessary to prevent catastrophic harm caused by AI models.
But the real question is: what does this bill say about the future of AI innovation in California? Will it stifle innovation and drive companies out of the state? Or will it create a safe and secure environment for AI development?
The bill’s fate now rests in the hands of Governor Gavin Newsom, who has until the end of September to decide whether to sign it into law. Will he choose to side with the innovators and entrepreneurs who have made California the hub of AI innovation, or will he cave to the pressure of special interest groups and sign the bill into law?
Only time will tell. But one thing is certain: the future of AI innovation in California hangs in the balance.
