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Gov. Newsom Vetoes AI Safety Bill SB 1047, Plans Comprehensive AI Legislation

Sep 29, 2024, 08:48 PM

California Governor Gavin Newsom has vetoed SB 1047, officially titled the "Safe and Secure Innovation for Frontier Artificial Intelligence Models Act," a controversial AI safety bill authored by State Senator Scott Wiener. The legislation, opposed by Silicon Valley, would have required the state's largest AI companies to implement stringent security measures and conduct testing before deploying their models to protect the public from potential harm. Newsom, in his veto statement, acknowledged that California is home to 32 of the world's 50 leading AI companies and emphasized the importance of addressing real threats posed by the technology. However, he expressed concerns that the bill did not consider whether an AI system is deployed in high-risk environments or involves critical decision-making, applying requirements regardless of a model's utility or risk. Newsom stated, "I do not believe this is the best approach to protecting the public from real threats posed by the technology." He plans to work on a more comprehensive AI bill next year to ensure California continues to lead in creating a responsible and safe AI regulatory framework.