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Elon Musk Backs Controversial California AI Safety Bill amid Tech Industry Debate
Elon Musk has given his support to a controversial artificial intelligence (AI) safety bill in California. He tweeted that the state should ‘probably pass’ the bill, even though it might upset some people.
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.
For over 20 years, I have been an advocate for AI regulation, just as we regulate any product/technology that is a potential risk…
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) August 26, 2024
Musk’s support for the bill comes at a critical moment as the bill is set for a vote in the state legislature this week. The SB 1047 bill would require companies that spend over $100 million on developing AI to implement a proper model that would prevent their technology from being used in ways that could cause major societal problems. If the bill gets violated and results in damages of over $500 million, the attorney general has the right to take legal action against the developers.
To support his position, Tesla’s CEO stated that he has advocated for AI regulation for more than two decades and believes AI should be subjected to regulation just like any product or technology that is a potential risk to the public.
The post by Elon disagreeing with OpenAI is not a surprise, as the billionaire businessman once sued the company, claiming the company went against its mission of helping humanity in favor of personal profit.
Industry Reactions and Concerns
Musk’s stance on the AI bill differs from that of some major tech companies, like OpenAI, which oppose it. While appreciating the bill’s intent, the company noted that a federal-driven set of AI policies would be better than a mix of state laws.
However, Wiener, who introduced the bill, has defended the need for state-level action. He stated that the potential threats posed by AI are not just science fiction. He argued that, in the absence of federal regulation, California is responsible for addressing these safety concerns.
OpenAI’s former employees have also criticized the company for not supporting the regulation. In an open letter to the California state leaders, William Saunders and Daniel Kokotajlo wrote that the company’s decision to oppose the regulation is the latest in its series of false promises.
They noted that while Sam Altman, the OpenAI CEO, had previously called for AI regulation, he still couldn’t support it now that an actual regulation had been proposed.
Anthropic has partially supported the bill. However, the tech company stated that it is not certain about the bill as some parts seem unclear to them.
The AI regulation bill has caused debate in local politics. San Francisco mayoral candidates are discussing whether the bill would hurt the city’s growing tech industry by adding more rules for companies.
Vitalik Buterin, the co-founder of Ethereum, responded to Musk’s tweet by asking questions about the evidence that the bill would target or restrict the availability of “open weights.” Buterin stated that the charitable read of the bill is to ensure safety testing and prevent the release of AI models with dangerous capabilities.
Elon Musk Backs Controversial California AI Safety Bill amid Tech Industry Debate
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