Big tech firms in a fix because of California AI Bill

Big tech firms have expressed strong objections against the California AI bill, however, to no avail as lawmakers are already scheduled to vote on the bill that will have a bearing on how AI is produced and used in the state.

The bill known as SB 1047 was advanced by State Senator Scott Wiener and raises issues that the firms are not happy with, although they are still keen on regulation for the industry.

Bill authorizes the general attorney to litigate for non-compliance

Among the many thorny issues, the bill will request safety testing for numerous AI models, that require more than $100 to develop or need a defined amount of computing power, according to a Reuters report. This is among other reasons why the bill has faced intense criticism from other legislators and tech enthusiasts in Silicon Valley.

Another factor is that creators of AI software used in the state are compelled to provide instructions on how to disable their AI models, in essence, a kill switch in the event of malfunctioning.

The bill also authorizes the general attorney of the state to litigate, should the creators of the AI fail to comply. This specifically refers to cases of an ongoing threat, for instance, if AI takes over government services such as the power grid.

According to the Reuters report, to evaluate their safety processes and give further protection to those who come forward to expose the misuse of AI, the law would also require developers to engage independent auditors.

The bill has already passed Senate and passed the state Assembly last week. It is now expected that the end of the legislative session which is August 31 will determine if the bill passes. Governor Gavin Newsom is expected to sign the bill or push it for veto by Sept. 30 if it passes.

Mixed reactions from both big tech firms and legislators

A San Francisco representative, Weiner highlighted the need to regulate the industry to protect the public, before the AI tech become uncontrollable.

But congressional Democrats in California  including Nancy Pelosi and Ro Khanna are opposing the bill with the former saying the bill was ill informed. Pelosi further said the bill does less good to the state, rather expressed fears that it would cause more harm.

There are also fears from the democrats that the law might force developers out of the state jeopardizing open-source AI models which depend on the publicly available code that anyone can use or alter.

Alphabet’s Google and Meta have raised concerns over the bill arguing it will threaten AI innovations. They have written letters to Weiner expressing their concerns. Yann LeCun, the chief scientist of Facebook parent’s company said in his July X post the law was possibly detrimental to research efforts.

On the other hand, Open AI has said AI should be regulated by the federal government, adding that SB 1047 creates an unclear environment for AI development.