🚨 Big News in AI Regulation: California Assembly Passes AI Safety Bill SB 1047

The California State Assembly just passed the Safe and Secure Innovation for Frontier Artificial Intelligence Models Act (SB 1047) – a bill that’s stirring up intense debate across Silicon Valley and beyond.

🛡️ What’s in the Bill?
Model Shutdown Mechanisms: AI companies must now implement swift and complete shutdown procedures.
Protection Against Modifications: Models must be safeguarded against unsafe post-training changes.
Risk Assessment: New testing procedures are required to evaluate potential risks of models causing critical harm.

🚫 The Controversy
Despite its intentions, the bill has faced pushback from AI giants like OpenAI and Anthropic, as well as from politicians like Zoe Lofgren and Nancy Pelosi, and California’s Chamber of Commerce. Critics argue that the bill focuses too much on catastrophic harms, potentially stifling innovation, especially for small, open-source AI developers.

🔄 Amendments to Address Concerns
Criminal Penalties have been replaced with civil penalties.
Enforcement powers of the attorney general have been limited.
Requirements for joining the Board of Frontier Models have been modified.

📈 What’s Next?
SB 1047 is headed for a vote in the State Senate, where it’s expected to pass. This could set a major precedent for AI legislation in the US, with significant implications for AI development not just in California but across the nation.