California Governor Vetoes Landmark AI Regulation Bill
In a significant move for tech policy, California Governor Gavin Newsom has vetoed SB 1047, a controversial artificial intelligence regulation bill that would have imposed strict safety requirements on large-scale AI developers.
Key Details of the Vetoed Bill
- Authored by: State Senator Scott Wiener
- Would have required: AI companies to implement safety protocols preventing “critical harms”
- Applicability threshold: Only affected models costing $100M+ to train or using 10^26 FLOPS (a computational benchmark)
- Opposition included: Major tech firms (OpenAI, Meta), AI experts (Yann LeCun), and politicians (Rep. Ro Khanna)
Why Newsom Rejected the Legislation
In his official statement, Governor Newsom explained:
“While well-intentioned, SB 1047 fails to distinguish between high-risk AI applications and basic functions. The bill’s blanket approach would impose unnecessary burdens without effectively addressing genuine threats.”
Key concerns included:
- Lack of risk-based differentiation in regulation
- Potential stifling of innovation
- Overly broad application to all large systems
Political and Industry Reactions
Supporters of the Veto
- Nancy Pelosi: Praised Newsom for “enabling small entrepreneurs and academia” (Tweet)
- Fei-Fei Li (Stanford AI Lab): Previously warned the bill would “harm our budding AI ecosystem”
Critics of the Decision
- Senator Wiener: Called it “a setback for AI safety oversight” (Statement)
- Argued the debate advanced global AI safety discussions
California’s Alternative AI Approach
While rejecting SB 1047, Newsom has:
- Signed 18 other AI-related bills in the past month
- Assembled an expert advisory group including:
- Fei-Fei Li (Stanford)
- Tino Cuéllar (former California Supreme Court Justice)
- Jennifer Tour Chayes (UC Berkeley)
This suggests California will pursue more targeted AI regulations rather than broad mandates.
The Bigger Picture
This veto highlights:
- The ongoing tension between innovation and regulation in AI
- California’s attempt to balance its tech leadership with public safety concerns
- Growing global debate about appropriate AI governance frameworks
Industry observers will watch closely as California develops its alternative approach to AI oversight in coming months.
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