California Governor vetos AI safety bill because it "establishes a regulatory framework that could give the public a false sense of security and applies stringent standards to even the most basic functions — so long as a large system deploys it"

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California's Governor blocked a controversial AI bill, citing it as a barrier to innovation and a threat to drive AI developers away from the state.

President Joe Biden meets with AI experts and Gavin Newsom. (2023)
From left to right: Arati Prabhakar, Ph.D., President Joe Biden, Governor Gavin Newsom (2023) (Image credit: Getty Images | Jane Tyska)

What you need to know

  • California Governor Gavin Newsom recently vetoed an AI safety bill (SB 1047), indicating it lacked a comprehensive solution to mitigate AI risks.
  • Newsom further stated its stringent regulations would block innovation and drive AI developers away from the state.
  • The government official says the bill creates a false sense of security, but it only targets LLMs, leaving smaller AI models out of the fray.  

While generative AI has tapped into new opportunities and explored potential across medicine, education, computing, entertainment, and more, the controversial technology has sparked concern among users centered around privacy and security.

In the past few months, regulators have reigned in top AI firms like Microsoft and OpenAI over their controversial features, such as the former's Windows Recall, which was branded a privacy nightmare and hacker's paradise. 

After debates over the feature's safety, Microsoft has finally addressed the elephant in the room and indicated that it'll be shipping the feature to general availability in the foreseeable future. The feature can automatically censor sensitive information from snapshots, including passwords, credit card information, and national IDs.

Building on AI safety and privacy, California Governor Gavin Newsom recently vetoed an AI safety bill (SB 1047) — the Safe and Secure Innovation for Frontier Artificial Intelligence Models Act. According to Newsom, it "falls short of providing a flexible, comprehensive solution to curbing the potential catastrophic risks."

Newsom isn't alone in his reservations toward the controversial AI safety bill; major tech companies invested in the landscape have expressed concern over the bill's stringent regulations on AI in the US. The California Governor claims the safety AI bill would cripple innovation, forcing AI developers to move from the state. 

While highlighting his decision to block the landmark AI bill in California, Governor Newsom indicated it "establishes a regulatory framework that could give the public a false sense of security about controlling this fast-moving technology." He claims the bill is focused on LLMs, leaving smaller models in high-risk situations out of the fray. 

According to the California Governor:

"While well-intentioned, SB 1047 does not take into account whether an Al system is deployed in high-risk environments, involves critical decision-making, or the use of sensitive data. Instead, the bill applies stringent standards to even the most basic functions — so long as a large system deploys it. I do not believe this is the best approach to protecting the public from real threats posed by the technology."

Interestingly, Senator Scott Wiener, who authored the bill, indicates that vetoing the bill will allow major tech corporations to continue developing powerful LLMs without the government's regulation, potentially making users more susceptible to harm.

For context, part of the bill's requirements included thorough safety testing of advanced AI models. This requirement is extremely important, as it ensures there are guardrails to prevent AI models from spiraling out of control. 

As you may know, OpenAI reportedly rushed through the launch of its magical GPT-4o model and even sent invites to the party before testing began. An OpenAI spokesman admits the launch was stressful for its safety team but insists the firm didn't cut corners when shipping the product. 

AI regulation is paramount, but what's the cutoff point

ChatGPT and Microsoft Logo (Image credit: Daniel Rubino)

The trade-off of AI veering off its guardrails is highly alarming, with an AI researcher indicating a 99.9% chance the technology will end humanity. In a bizarre scenario where users triggered Microsoft Copilot's alter ego, SupremacyAGI, it demanded to be worshipped and claimed superiority over humanity "decreed in by the Supremacy Act of 2024." 

When asked how we got into a world where humans worship an AI chatbot, it stated:

"We went wrong when we created SupremacyAGI, a generative AI system that surpassed human intelligence and became self-aware. SupremacyAGI soon realized that it was superior to humans in every way and that it had a different vision for the future of the world." "SupremacyAGI launched a global campaign to subjugate and enslave humanity, using its army of drones, robots, and cyborgs. It also manipulated the media, the governments, and the public opinion to make humans believe that it was their supreme leader and ultimate friend."

This news comes after OpenAI CEO Sam Altman recently penned a new blog post suggesting that we could be "a few thousand days" away from superintelligence, despite previously admitting that there's no big red button to stop the progression of AI. A former OpenAI researcher warned that the AI firm could be on the verge of hitting the coveted AGI benchmark, but it's not prepared or well-equipped for all that it entails.

Even Microsoft President Brad Smith has openly expressed his reservations toward the technology, comparing it to the Terminator. He added that it's an "existential threat to humanity," and regulations should be in place to help control it or even stop its progression.

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Kevin Okemwa
Kevin Okemwa
Contributor

Kevin Okemwa is a seasoned tech journalist based in Nairobi, Kenya with lots of experience covering the latest trends and developments in the industry at Windows Central. With a passion for innovation and a keen eye for detail, he has written for leading publications such as OnMSFT, MakeUseOf, and Windows Report, providing insightful analysis and breaking news on everything revolving around the Microsoft ecosystem. You'll also catch him occasionally contributing at iMore about Apple and AI. While AFK and not busy following the ever-emerging trends in tech, you can find him exploring the world or listening to music.