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In a surprising move, Elon Musk has thrown his support behind California’s Senate Bill 1047.
The legislation is designed to regulate artificial intelligence (AI) by mandating safety testing for large-scale models.?
This endorsement from the tech magnate has sparked debate within Silicon Valley, where the bill has been met with strong resistance from other major tech players.
Breaking Ranks With Silicon Valley
Senate Bill 1047, introduced by Democratic state Senator Scott Wiener, seeks to establish safety protocols for AI systems, especially those that could cause significant harm if misused.?
The bill would place greater responsibility on AI developers spending over $100M building AI models, including safety testing and other safeguards. It also empowers the state’s Attorney General to take action against any developer whose model causes “severe harm” and mandates companies implement a kill switch to turn off their models at any time.
Wiener has said that the bill is important for preventing catastrophic events, such as the development of biological weapons through AI. Despite these intentions, the bill has faced fierce opposition from tech giants like Marc Andreessen and organizations like OpenAI.?
However, Musk expressed support for the bill in the below X post.
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
His endorsement contrasts sharply with other influential figures in Silicon Valley, many of whom believe the bill could hamper the state’s leadership in AI development.
Last week, AI firm Anthropic wrote to California Governor Gavin Newsom, showing cautious support for the updated AI bill. The company said the changes made to the bill made it much better, though there are clauses in the bill that trouble them.?
While opposing the Senate Bill 1047, OpenAI, Microsoft and Adobe have expressed support for the state Bill AB-3211, which requires a watermark on AI content. In a letter to California State Assembly member Buffy Wicks and the bill’s author, OpenAI declared its belief and commitment to transparency and accountability in AI-generated content.
“New technology and standards can help people understand the origin of content they find online and avoid confusion between human-generated and photorealistic AI-generated content,” OpenAI Chief Strategy Officer Jason Kwon wrote in the letter, which was reviewed by Reuters.
A History of AI Regulation Advocacy
Musk’s stance is not entirely unexpected, given his long-standing advocacy for AI regulation. For over two decades, Musk has warned of the potential dangers of unregulated AI, comparing its risks to those posed by nuclear weapons.?
However, Musk’s endorsement of Senate Bill 1047 is somewhat at odds with his recent embrace of generative AI technologies. Musk has launched Grok through his company X, a tool that allows users to create computer-generated images from text prompts.?
Elon Musk and xAI just released the weights + architecture of Grok-1.
It's a massive 314B parameter language model that's 2x the size of GPT-3.5.
Big win for collaborative and transparent AI development, and nice to see Elon walking the walk. pic.twitter.com/uDyYEO01yU
— Rowan Cheung (@rowancheung) March 17, 2024
The Tesla CEO’s support has not only caused a stir in the tech community but has also created a complicated dynamic within the political arena. Several Democratic leaders in Congress, including Representatives Zoe Lofgren, Ro Khanna, and former Speaker Nancy Pelosi have spoken against the bill.
Moreover, Musk’s support for his AI regulation bill puts him in an awkward position with Senator Wiener, with whom he has previously clashed over legislation concerning the privacy of LGBTQ youth. Wiener, a vocal advocate for privacy rights, has yet to comment on Musk’s support for his bill.
As the bill’s passage deadline approaches, all eyes are on Governor Gavin Newsom, who will have the final say if the legislation clears the state Legislature this week.?
