Gavin Newsom vetoes sweeping AI safety bill, siding with Silicon Valley

from Politico

Gov. Gavin Newsom vetoed a sweeping California bill meant to impose safety vetting requirements for powerful AI models, siding with much of Silicon Valley and leading congressional Democrats in the most high-profile fight in the Legislature this year.

Newsom said in a veto message that the legislation “does not take into account whether an AI system is deployed in high-risk environments, involves critical decision-making or the use of sensitive data.”

“Instead, the bill applies stringent standards to even the most basic functions — so long as a large system deploys it,” Newsom said. “I do not believe this is the best approach to protecting the public from real threats posed by the technology.”

California’s battle took on outsize dimensions because the bill would have set a de facto national standard for the technology. Newsom has faced fierce lobbying from the state’s economic and political powers, including Hollywood actors, prominent tech companies and investors, as well as influential House members like former Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

The tech-friendly governor has for months warned against stymying California’s burgeoning AI industry and undermining the state’s economic competitiveness, but he has also said California must lead on responsible regulation.

Newsom signed a less-sweeping bill that requires California’s emergency response agency to study AI risks. He paired his veto with a light-on-details commitment to formulate legislation that imposes guardrails on AI, working with academic luminaries like Dr. Fei-Fei Li, a Stanford professor who opposed the bill.

Newsom also said he would work with organized labor and private businesses to expand workplace applications for AI, building on a series of pilot projects with state agencies that have explored using AI to manage traffic management and streamline customer service for public benefits.

The bill from state Sen. Scott Wiener, a San Francisco Democrat, would have required the largest AI models to certify safety testing before deployment with the aim of protecting people from potential dangers like the creation of bioweapons.

Proponents argued it was California’s best chance to regulate the fast-moving technology — a field largely being driven by tech companies with California headquarters and global operations. State lawmakers have hoped to lead the way in the face of inaction from Congress, spurred in part by a widespread belief policymakers had waited too long to rein in social media.

Wiener, in a statement, said Newsom’s veto means the companies creating the most powerful AI systems face no restrictions from policymakers...

read more here