California Governor Gavin Newsom has signed SB 53, the nation’s first laws to set new transparency necessities for big AI firms.
SB 53, which handed the state legislature two weeks in the past, requires giant AI labs, together with OpenAI, Humanity, Meta and Google Deepmind, to be clear about security protocols. It additionally ensures the safety of whistleblowers for workers of those firms.
Moreover, SB 53 creates a mechanism for AI firms and the general public to report doubtlessly critical security incidents to the California Division of Emergency Providers. As well as, companies should report incidents associated to crimes dedicated with out human supervision, similar to cyber assaults, primarily based on fashions not required by EU AI regulation.
The invoice has undergone combined reactions from the AI business. Whereas tech firms extensively argue that state-level AI insurance policies threat making a “regulatory patchwork” that hinder innovation, humanity has supported the invoice. Meta and Openai lobbyed in opposition to it. Openai wrote an open letter to Gov. Newsom, which discouraged the signature of SB 53.
The brand new invoice is pouring tons of of tens of millions of tens of millions of again candidates that assist a light-up strategy to AI regulation by some Silicon Valley tech elites. In current weeks, Openai and Meta leaders have launched a pro-ai tremendous PACS geared toward supporting AI-friendly candidates and payments.
Nonetheless, different states could also be searching for inspiration from California to hunt to curb the potential hurt brought on by unmitigated advances in such highly effective rising applied sciences. In New York, an identical invoice has been handed by state lawmakers awaiting Gov. Kathy Hochul’s signature or veto.
“California is proving that we are able to set up laws to guard our communities and be certain that the rising AI business continues to thrive,” Newsom mentioned in an announcement. “This regulation balances that. AI is a brand new frontier of innovation, and California isn’t solely right here, but in addition sturdy as a nationwide chief by enacting a nationwide frontier AI security regulation that builds public belief as this new know-how quickly evolves.”
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The governor can be weighing one other invoice (SB 243) this month with bipartisan assist from each the state legislature and the Senate. The invoice regulates AI companion chatbots, requires operators to implement security protocols, and requires that bots be legally accountable if they don’t meet these requirements.
SB 53 is Sen. Scott Winner’s second try on the AI Security Invoice after Newsom rejected his extra drastic SB 1047 final 12 months amid a significant pushback from AI firms. With this invoice, Wiener reached out to main AI firms to grasp the modifications they made to the invoice.
