Elon Musk, Tesla’s CEO and SpaceX’s founder has said that the state of California should pass an AI regulation bill that will require tech companies and AI developers to conduct safety testing and implement safeguards against cyberattacks.
Musk, the CEO of social media platform X, who has been involved in AI companies like openeAI and Neuralink, wrote on X that endorsing California’s SB 1047 bill wasn’t easy for him. He said, “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 to the public.”
According to the bill, AI developers will have to cough up upwards of $100 million to build a model to conduct safety testing and implement safeguards against cyber attacks. The bill will also allow the state’s attorney general to take civil actions against any tech firm should the AI model cause any “critical harm.” California lawmakers tried to introduce 65 bills related to AI this legislative season. These bills aimed to make sure AI decisions are fair and protect the intellectual property of deceased individuals from being exploited by AI companies. However, many of these bills didn’t make it through.
Also Read: Protecting Yourself Online In The Age of AI
Earlier in the day, another tech company, perhaps one of the world’s leading AI companies, OpenAI, also voiced its support for another bill called AB 3211. According to this bill, AI companies would be required to label their AI-generated content. This content will include everything from harmless and funny memes to potentially derogatory deep fakes aimed at spreading misinformation.
Both of these bills haven’t seen the light of day as of now, but if implemented, they can seriously impact the AI ecosystem, either for good or for worse, but the true impact is still unknown.
