The veto caps off weeks of skepticism over how Newsom would act on the legislation, known as California Senate Bill 1047, or the Safe and Secure Innovation for Frontier Artificial Intelligence Models Act.
In a veto message published Sunday, the governor said the bill’s focus on the “most expensive and large-scale models” “could give the public a false sense of security about controlling” AI.
“Smaller, specialized models may emerge equally or even more dangerous than the models targeted by SB 1047 – at the potential expense of curtailing the very innovation that fuels advancement in favor of the public good,” he wrote.
The bill, known as SB 1047 for short, would have required powerful AI models to undergo safety testing before being released to the public. It also sought to hold developers liable for severe harm caused by their models. but only applied to AI models that cost more than $100 million to train
“While well-intentioned, SB 1047 does not take into account whether an AI system is deployed in high-risk environments, involves critical decision-making or the use of sensitive data,” Newsom wrote. “Instead, the bill applies stringent standards to even the most basic functions – so as long as a large system deploys it.”
California is home to 32 of the world’s “50 leading AI companies,” according to Newsom’s office, and has become a major hub for AI-related legislation as a result.
Newsom emphasized his veto does not mean he does not believe there is an urgent need to act on the advancing tech to prevent major catastrophe.
The bill received mixed opinions from AI startups, major technology firms, researchers and even some lawmakers who were divided over whether it would throttle the development of the technology or establish much-needed guardrails.
Read more about the veto and reactions to it at TheHill.com.
