California Governor Stops AI Safety Bill, Citing Concerns

California Governor Gavin Newsom recently vetoed a hotly debated artificial intelligence (AI) safety bill. Tech firms opposed this bill, fearing it might cause AI companies to leave California and slow down innovation. Newsom wants to create guidelines for Generative AI – which can generate text, photos, and videos – based on science and data. He's also asked state agencies to study risks linked to AI use. The bill's author, Senator Scott Wiener, argued that laws are needed to protect people before AI gets out of control. The tech industry, however, including companies like Google and Meta, worried about the bill's impact on their operations. Wiener criticized the veto, saying it leaves AI companies without concrete rules. Newsom believes more understanding of AI is crucial before setting rules. He plans to work on AI legislation with the state's lawmakers in the next session. This comes as federal action on AI regulation is delayed and the Biden administration considers oversight proposals. Newsom hinted that a California-specific approach might be needed if the federal government doesn't act. The bill would have required safety tests for expensive AI models and a system to shut them down if necessary. It also aimed to monitor the development of advanced AI models. Despite opposition from various groups, including some Democrats in Congress, there were supporters like Tesla's Elon Musk. Newsom also signed another bill to assess how Generative AI might threaten California's infrastructure.