California governor Gavin Newsom vetoed the hotly contested artificial intelligence safety bill on Sunday after the tech industry voiced concern over AI development, saying it could drive AI companies from the state and hinder innovation.
Newsom said that he is in talks with the leading experts of generative AI to help California “develop workable guardrails,” with a sole focus on “developing an empirical, science-based trajectory analysis.” Generative AI is a technology that can create photos, videos, and written content in response to open-ended prompts. Although the use of AI in various fields has spurred innovation and advancements, people fear that it can make jobs obsolete and interfere in elections as it can create deep fakes.
The democratic state senator, Scott Wiener, came up with the bill and said that it is very important to safeguard the interests of the people of California. However, the AI industry is booming in California, and some leaders questioned the future of these companies and AI in the state.
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Regarding the veto, Wiener said, “Companies aiming to create an extremely powerful technology face no binding restrictions.” He further added, “Voluntary commitments from industry are not enforceable and rarely work out well for the public.”
The bill aimed to introduce AI safety measures, including mandatory testing for advanced AI models exceeding $100 million in development costs and requiring a “kill switch” for AI systems. It also proposed a state oversight body for advanced “Frontier Models.” The veto follows stalled federal legislation in Congress, with Newsom hinting that California might pursue independent action. The bill faced opposition from tech giants like Google and Meta, while supporters included Elon Musk and Anthropic, highlighting potential benefits despite concerns.
