{"id":5543,"date":"2024-09-30T16:38:33","date_gmt":"2024-09-30T21:38:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.darkreading.com\/application-security\/calif-gov-vetoes-ai-safety-bill"},"modified":"2024-09-30T16:38:33","modified_gmt":"2024-09-30T21:38:33","slug":"calif-gov-vetoes-ai-safety-bill-aimed-at-big-tech-players","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/index.php\/2024\/09\/30\/calif-gov-vetoes-ai-safety-bill-aimed-at-big-tech-players\/","title":{"rendered":"Calif. Gov. Vetoes AI Safety Bill Aimed at Big Tech Players"},"content":{"rendered":"
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California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) has vetoed SB-1047, a bill that would have imposed what some perceived as overly broad \u2014 and unrealistic \u2014 restrictions on developers of advanced artificial intelligence (AI) models.<\/span><\/p>\n

In doing so, Newsom likely disappointed many others \u2014 including leading AI researchers, the Center for AI Security (CAIS), and the Screen Actors Guild \u2014 who perceived the bill as establishing much-needed safety and privacy guardrails around AI model development and use.<\/span><\/p>\n

Well-Intentioned but Flawed?<\/h2>\n

“While well-intentioned, SB-1047 does not take into account whether an AI system is deployed in high-risk environments, or involves critical decision-making or the use of sensitive data,” <\/span>Newsom wrote<\/a><\/span>. “Instead, the bill applies stringent standards to even the most basic functions \u2014 so long as a large system deploys it. I do not believe this is the best approach to protecting the public from real threats posed by the technology.”<\/span><\/p>\n

Newsom’s veto announcement contained references to 17 other AI-related bills that he signed over the past month governing the use and deployment of generative AI (GenAI) tools in the state, which is a category that includes chatbots such as ChatGPT, Microsoft Copilot, Google Gemini, and others.<\/span><\/p>\n

“We have a responsibility to protect Californians from the potentially catastrophic risks of GenAI deployment,” he acknowledged. But he made clear that SB-1047 was not the vehicle for those protections. “We will thoughtfully \u2014 and swiftly \u2014 work toward a solution that is adaptable to this fast-moving technology and harnesses its potential to advance the public good.”<\/span><\/p>\n

Related:<\/span>News Desk 2024: Hacking Microsoft Copilot Is Scary Easy<\/a><\/p>\n

There are <\/span>numerous other proposals<\/a><\/span> at the state level, seeking similar control over AI development amid concerns about other <\/span>countries overtaking the US<\/a><\/span> on the AI front.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Need for Safe & Secure AI Development<\/h2>\n

California State senators Scott Wiener, Richard Roth, Susan Rubio, and Henry Stern proposed <\/span>SB-1047<\/a><\/span> as a measure that would impose some oversight over companies like OpenAI, Meta, and Google, which are all pouring hundreds of millions of dollars into developing AI technologies.<\/span><\/p>\n

At the core of the Safe and Secure Innovation for Frontier Artificial Intelligence Models Act are stipulations that would have required companies that develop large language models (LLMs) \u2014 which can cost more than $100 million to develop \u2014 to ensure their technologies enable no critical harm. The bill defined “critical harm” as incidents involving the use of AI technologies to create or use chemical, biological, nuclear, and other weapons of mass destruction, or those causing mass casualties, mass damage, death, bodily injury and other harm.<\/span><\/p>\n

Related:<\/span>Sloppy Entra ID Credentials Attract Hybrid Cloud Ransomware<\/a><\/p>\n

To enable that, SB-1047 would have required covered entities to comply with specific administrative, technical, and physical controls to prevent unauthorized access to their models, misuse of their models, or unsafe modifications to their models by others. The bill included a particularly controversial clause that would have required the OpenAIs, Googles, and Metas of the world to implement nuclear-like failsafe capabilities to “enact a full shutdown” of their LLMs in certain circumstances.<\/span><\/p>\n

The bill won broad bipartisan support and easily passed California’s state Assembly and Senate earlier this year. It headed to Newsom’s desk for signing in August. At the time, <\/span>Weiner cited the support<\/a><\/span> of leading AI researchers such as <\/span>Geoffrey Hinton<\/a><\/span> (a former AI researcher at Google), professor <\/span>Yoshua Bengio,<\/a><\/span> and entities such as <\/span>CAIS<\/a><\/span>.<\/span><\/p>\n

Even Elon Musk, whose own xAI company would have been subjected to SB-1047, came out in support of the bill <\/span>in a post on X<\/a><\/span> saying Newsom should probably pass the bill given the potential <\/span>existential risks of runaway AI,<\/a><\/span> which he and others have been flagging for many months.<\/span><\/p>\n

Related:<\/span>Memory-Safe Code Adoption Has Made Android Safer<\/a><\/p>\n

Fear Based on Theoretical, Doomsday Scenarios?<\/h2>\n

Others, however, perceived the bill as based on unproven doomsday scenarios about the potential for AI to wreak havoc on society. <\/span>In an open letter<\/a><\/span>, a coalition that included several entities including the Bay Area Council, Chamber of Progress, TechFreedom, and Silicon Valley Leadership Group called the bill fundamentally flawed.<\/span><\/p>\n

The group claimed that the harms that SB-1047 sought to protect against were completely theoretical, with no basis in fact. “Moreover, the latest independent academic research concludes, large language models like ChatGPT cannot learn independently or acquire new skills, meaning they pose no existential threat to humanity.” The coalition also took issue with the fact that the bill would hold developers of large AI models responsible for what others do with their products.<\/span><\/p>\n

Arlo Gilbert, CEO of data-privacy firm Osano, is among those who views Newsom’s decision to veto the bill as a sound one<\/span>.<\/span><\/span> “I support the governor’s decision,” Gilbert says. “While I’m a great proponent for AI regulation, the proposed SB-1047 is not the right vehicle to get us there.”<\/span><\/p>\n

As Newsom has identified, there are gaps between policy and technology, and the balance between doing the right thing and supporting innovation is one that merits a cautious approach, he says. From a privacy and security perspective, small startups or smaller companies that would have been exempt from this rule can actually present a greater risk of harm due to their relative access to resources to protect, monitor, and disgorge data from their systems, Gilbert notes.<\/span><\/p>\n

In an emailed statement, Melissa Ruzzi, director of artificial intelligence at AppOmni, identified SB-1047 as raising issues that need attention now: “We all know AI is very new and there are challenges in writing laws around it. We cannot expect the first laws to be flawless and perfect \u2014 this will most likely be an iterative process, but we have to start somewhere.”<\/span><\/p>\n

She acknowledged that some of the biggest players in the AI space, such as Anthropic and Google, have put a big focus on ensuring their technologies do no harm. “But to make sure all players will follow the rules, laws are needed,” she said. “This removes the uncertainty and fear from end users about AI being used in an application.”<\/span><\/p>\n

Source<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) has vetoed SB-1047, a bill<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":5544,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[809],"class_list":["post-5543","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-dark-reading"],"featured_image_urls":{"full":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ddi.mohflo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/calif-gov-vetoes-ai-safety-bill-aimed-at-big-tech-players.jpg?fit=1920%2C1080&ssl=1",1920,1080,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ddi.mohflo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/calif-gov-vetoes-ai-safety-bill-aimed-at-big-tech-players.jpg?resize=150%2C150&ssl=1",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ddi.mohflo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/calif-gov-vetoes-ai-safety-bill-aimed-at-big-tech-players.jpg?fit=300%2C169&ssl=1",300,169,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ddi.mohflo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/calif-gov-vetoes-ai-safety-bill-aimed-at-big-tech-players.jpg?fit=640%2C360&ssl=1",640,360,true],"large":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ddi.mohflo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/calif-gov-vetoes-ai-safety-bill-aimed-at-big-tech-players.jpg?fit=640%2C360&ssl=1",640,360,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ddi.mohflo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/calif-gov-vetoes-ai-safety-bill-aimed-at-big-tech-players.jpg?fit=1536%2C864&ssl=1",1536,864,true],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ddi.mohflo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/calif-gov-vetoes-ai-safety-bill-aimed-at-big-tech-players.jpg?fit=1920%2C1080&ssl=1",1920,1080,true],"chromenews-featured":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ddi.mohflo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/calif-gov-vetoes-ai-safety-bill-aimed-at-big-tech-players.jpg?fit=1024%2C576&ssl=1",1024,576,true],"chromenews-large":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ddi.mohflo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/calif-gov-vetoes-ai-safety-bill-aimed-at-big-tech-players.jpg?resize=825%2C575&ssl=1",825,575,true],"chromenews-medium":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ddi.mohflo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/calif-gov-vetoes-ai-safety-bill-aimed-at-big-tech-players.jpg?resize=590%2C410&ssl=1",590,410,true]},"author_info":{"display_name":"Dark Reading","author_link":"https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/index.php\/author\/darkreading\/"},"category_info":"Uncategorized<\/a>","tag_info":"Uncategorized","comment_count":"0","jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ddi.mohflo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/calif-gov-vetoes-ai-safety-bill-aimed-at-big-tech-players.jpg?fit=1920%2C1080&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5543","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/12"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5543"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5543\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5544"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5543"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5543"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5543"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}