S5, E221 - How Senate Bill 1047 Could Change AI

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California's Senate Bill 1047 is on the brink of becoming a law, and we're here to break down what that means for the tech industry and society at large. Tune in as I dissect how this controversial bill mandates rigorous testing of AI systems to identify potential harms such as cybersecurity risks and threats to critical infrastructure. I've got insights from policymakers, including Senator Scott Weiner, who argues that the bill formalizes safety measures already accepted by top AI firms. 

Amidst passionate debates, hear how tech giants like Google and Meta push back against the regulations, fearing they could cripple innovation, especially for startups. Meanwhile, proponents, including whistleblowers from OpenAI and notable figures like Elon Musk and Yoshua Bengio, champion the necessity of such rules to mitigate substantial AI risks. We’ll also explore the broader legislative landscape that aims to combat deep fakes, and automated discrimination, and safeguard the likeness of deceased individuals in AI-generated content.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Check, check, one, two check, check, check, check,
check and check, check, check,check, check, check, check,
check, check, check, check,check, check, check, check,
please.
Um, uh, checker Rooney,checkmate.
Okay, oh, righty.

(00:22):
Then, ladies and gentlemen,welcome back to another episode
of Privacy, please.
I am your host, cameron Ivey,and I got another blog cast for
you.
It's been a while since I'vedone one of these and I think we
bring it back with some reallyinteresting news in the privacy
industry.
I mean, it's pretty big newsfor privacy in general, but

(00:43):
we'll go ahead and dive rightinto this thing.
So California's AI regulationbill heads to Governor Newsom.
Let's dig in, all right.
Well, the California lawmakershave approved Senate Bill 1047,

(01:05):
a controversial bill requiringcompanies to create or modify
powerful AI systems to test forpotential harm.
Now the bill has now landed onGovernor Gavin Newsom's desk.
Whether it becomes a law, it'sgoing to be up to him.
Let's talk about the numbers alittle bit.
The Senate initially passed thebill with a 32 to 1 vote in May

(01:28):
.
Fast forward to late Wednesdayafternoon, the Assembly voted 48
to 15 to pass it, followed bythe Senate concurring with
amendments this morning, acouple days ago.
So what does the bill entail,you ask?
Well, sb 1047 mandates thatcompanies investing $100 million

(01:52):
or more to train an AI model,or $10 million to modify one,
must test these models for theirpotential to cause significant
harm.
This includes testing forpossible cybersecurity risks or
attacks, infrastructure threatsand the development of chemical,
biological, radioactive ornuclear weapons.

(02:14):
The stakes and stakeholders andI'm not talking about a juicy
steak, I'm talking about highstakes here High stakes, low
stakes.
You know what I'm saying.
Stake talking about high stakeshere, high stakes, low stakes.
You know what I'm saying.
The bill has garnered supportand opposition from some
powerful entities.
On one side, we have companieslike google, meta and open ai,

(02:35):
as well as startup incubator ycombinator, all voicing strong
opposition.
They argue that compliancecosts could cripple the industry
, especially startups, andstifle open source AI innovation
due to potential legalliabilities.
Yet whistleblowers from OpenAI,the executives at Anthropic

(02:56):
Twitter, ceo Elon Musk and AIresearcher Yoshu Bengio are all
in favor.
They contend that AI tools posea significant risk and that
federal regulation has beeninsufficient.
What's the political angle here?
Eight members of Congress fromCalifornia have urged Governor

(03:17):
Newsom to veto the bill.
Newsom himself has expressed adesire to avoid over-regulation,
despite recognizing the needfor some level of oversight.
The next few days will becrucial as we watch to see if he
will sign or veto the bill.
Here are some insights fromSenator Scott Weiner.

(03:38):
Senator Democrat from SanFrancisco and author of the bill
argues that SB 1047 merelycodifies safety measures that
leading AI companies havealready agreed upon with
international leaders andPresident Biden.
Industry and public reactionsMeta continues to oppose the

(04:00):
bill, claiming it would stifleAI development and hurt
California's reputation forfostering innovation.
However, proponents like DanielKokutaju sorry for the botch
there, a former OpenAI employeeand whistleblower he be blowing
whistles believe the bill willdemonstrate that innovation and

(04:23):
regulation can coexist.
Let's talk about the broaderlegislative context here.
So, in addition to SB 1047,which honestly sounds like some
kind of robot name uh, likejohnny five, anyways, show my
age california's legislator isalso passing other ai related

(04:45):
laws.
These, conclude these includerequirements for large online
platforms like facebook toremove election related deep
fakes and creating a workinggroup to guide schools on safe
ai usage.
Additionally, other bills aimto combat automated
discrimination and protect thelikeliness of deceased

(05:05):
individuals in AI-generatedcontent.
In conclusion here,california's SB 1047 is a
significant step towardsregulating AI to prevent
societal harm while balancinginnovation and safety.
As we await Governor Newsom'sdecision, it's clear that the
stakes are high for both AIdevelopers and the public.

(05:28):
This is pretty big.
It's going to be interesting tosee what happens in the next
few days, if anything happens inthe next few days, but we'll
stay tuned to this.
We'll keep you guys posted.
You might hear things before Ican get that stuff out to you,
but if you haven't heard much tothis, hopefully this was some
good information, because thisjust passed.
I think this just happened onSaturday.
I hope everybody had awonderful Labor Day weekend and

(05:51):
thanks again for supportingPrivacy.
Please, we will see you guysnext week.
Stay safe, stay private, stayclassy.
San Diego, we'll see you nexttime.