A new California measure, formally known as SB 1047 or the Safe and Secure Innovation for Frontier Artificial Intelligence Systems Act, would require developers of the largest and most powerful AI systems to test for safety before releasing those models to the public.
The bill would also require companies to tell the state about its testing protocols and guardrails, and California’s attorney general could sue if the tech causes “critical harm.”
The bill would also “promote the growth of the AI industry by establishing CalCompute, a public AI research cluster that will allow startups, researchers, and community groups to participate in the development of large-scale AI systems,” a news release said.
The bill was introduced by state Sen. Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco).
Wiener believes that AI technology could benefit Californians and the economy with advancements in fields like medicine and climate science. Still, if left unregulated, the technology could pose a severe threat to national security and public safety.
“AI developers in California have already taken important first steps in pioneering safe development practices. But California’s government cannot afford to be complacent. With Congress paralyzed and the future of the Biden Administration’s Executive Order in doubt, California has an indispensable role to play in ensuring that we develop this extremely powerful technology with basic safety guardrails in order to allow society to experience AI’s massive potential benefits,” Wiener said in a statement.
Last May, Sam Altman, CEO of ChatGPT-maker OpenAI, urged U.S. Senators to pass laws regulating artificial technology being created at his own company and others like Google and Amazon.
While the federal government has studied the issue, no AI regulation has been put in place yet.
“I would love to have one unified, federal law that effectively addresses AI safety. Congress has not passed such a law. Congress has not even come close to passing such a law,” Wiener told NPR.
Should the bill pass and become law, Wiener hopes it could act as a model for the federal government and other states planning to implement similar regulations.