California Governor Newsom signs landmark AI safety bill SB 53

California Gov. Gavin Newsom has signed SB 53, a first-in-the-nation invoice that units new transparency requirements on giant AI firms.

SB 53, which passed the state legislature two weeks in the past, requires giant AI labs — together with OpenAI, Anthropic, Meta, and Google DeepMind — to be clear about security protocols. It additionally ensures whistleblower protections for workers at these firms.  

As well as, SB 53 creates a mechanism for AI firms and the general public to report potential essential security incidents to California’s Workplace of Emergency Companies. Corporations additionally should report incidents associated to crimes dedicated with out human oversight, similar to cyberattacks, and misleading habits by a mannequin that isn’t required underneath the EU AI Act.  

The invoice has obtained combined reactions from the AI trade. Tech corporations have broadly argued that state-level AI coverage dangers making a “patchwork of regulation” that might hinder innovation, though Anthropic endorsed the bill. Meta and OpenAI lobbied towards it. OpenAI even wrote and printed an open letter to Gov. Newsom that discouraged his signing of SB 53.

The brand new invoice comes as a few of Silicon Valley’s tech elite have poured a whole lot of thousands and thousands into tremendous PACs to again candidates that help a light-touch strategy to AI regulation. Leaders at OpenAI and Meta have in current weeks launched pro-AI tremendous PACs that intention to back candidates and payments which might be pleasant to AI. 

Nonetheless, different states would possibly look to California for inspiration as they try to curb the potential harms brought on by the unmitigated development of such a strong rising expertise. In New York, the same invoice was handed by state lawmakers and is awaiting Gov. Kathy Hochul’s signature or veto.  

“California has confirmed that we will set up rules to guard our communities whereas additionally making certain that the rising AI trade continues to thrive,” Newsom stated in an announcement. “This laws strikes that stability. AI is the brand new frontier in innovation, and California is just not solely right here for it — however stands robust as a nationwide chief by enacting the first-in-the-nation frontier AI security laws that builds public belief as this rising expertise quickly evolves.” 

The governor can also be weighing one other invoice — SB 243 — that handed each the State Meeting and Senate with bipartisan help this month. The invoice would regulate AI companion chatbots, requiring operators to implement security protocols, and maintain them legally accountable if their bots fail to meet these requirements.  

SB 53 is Senator Scott Wiener’s second try at an AI security invoice after Newsom vetoed his extra sweeping SB 1047 final 12 months amid main pushback from AI firms. With this invoice, Wiener reached out to major AI companies to try to assist them perceive the modifications he made to the invoice.