California Governor Gavin Newsom has vetoed the Safe and Secure Innovation for Frontier Artificial Intelligence Models Act (SB 1047).
It would have applied to covered AI companies doing business in California with a model that cost over $100 million to train or over $10 million to fine-tune, and would have added requirements that developers have safeguards such as a ” Implement a kill switch and establish testing protocols Reduce the risk of catastrophic events such as a cyberattack or pandemic. The text also provides protections for whistleblowers who can report violations and allows the AG to claim damages caused by security incidents.
Changes since its introduction have included removing proposals for a new regulator and empowering the attorney general to sue developers over potential incidents before they occur. Most companies covered by the law pushed back against the law, although some have tempered their criticism following these changes.
The Chamber of Progress, a coalition representing Amazon, Meta and Google, also warned that the law would “hinder innovation.”
Opponents of the bill included former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, San Francisco Mayor London Breed and eight congressional Democrats from California. On the other hand, vocal supporters included Elon Musk, prominent Hollywood names like Mark Hamill, Alyssa Milano, Shonda Rhimes and JJ Abrams, and unions like SAG-AFTRA and SEIU.
The federal government is also examining how it could regulate AI. In May, the Senate proposed a $32 billion roadmap that covers several areas for lawmakers to address, including AI's impact on elections, national security, copyrighted content and more.