Elon Musk on Monday said California should “probably pass” an artificial intelligence safety bill that many in the tech industry have criticized, tweeting that AI should be subject to regulation just like “any product/technology that is a potential risk to the public.”
Musk’s post comes as the bill, SB 1047, is poised to go for a vote this week in the state Legislature. The bill would require companies that spend $100 million or more training AI models to develop measures to safeguard their technology from being used to wreak catastrophe on society.
This is a tough call and will make some people upset, but, all things considered, I think California should probably pass the SB 1047 AI safety bill.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) August 26, 2024
For over 20 years, I have been an advocate for AI regulation, just as we regulate any product/technology that is a potential risk…
State Sen. Scott Wiener, who introduced the bill, said in a press conference Monday morning that the potential threats posed by AI are “not made-up science fiction risks.” In the absence of national regulation, he said, California has a “responsibility as a bastion of innovation” to lead on safety issues.
OpenAI said in a letter to Wiener’s office last week that it opposed the bill even though it appreciated its intent. “A federally-driven set of AI policies, rather than a patchwork of state laws, will foster innovation and position the U.S. to lead the development of global standards,” the company wrote.
Anthropic, which previously said it may support the bill if amendments it suggested were made, last week sent a letter to Gov. Gavin Newsom’s office saying that in the revised version, the legislation’s “benefits likely outweigh its costs.”
“However, we are not certain of this, and there are still some aspects of the bill which seem concerning or ambiguous to us,” the company wrote, stopping short of a full endorsement.
The bill has become a flashpoint in local politics, with mayoral candidates weighing in on whether it would stymie San Francisco’s economy by constraining a budding industry.
The fact that Musk is breaking with OpenAI on what constitutes AI safety is no surprise — he has sued the company, alleging it was betraying its mission of helping humanity in favor of profits.
But it is noteworthy given that he has criticized other California legislation, to the extent that he said his company X would move its headquarters to Austin, Texas, after the governor signed a law barring school districts from mandating that teachers alert parents if their child wishes to use different pronouns at school.