California lawmakers are currently considering a bill that will require firms developing artificial intelligence to check their systems and put safeguards in place to make sure they can not be tampered with to take down the state’s power grid or help construct chemical weapons – scenarios that experts say are possible in the longer term as technology advances at warp speed.
Lawmakers are set to vote on Tuesday on the first-of-its-kind bill designed to scale back the risks posed by AI. The bill faces fierce opposition from tech firms like Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, and Google, who say the regulations goal developers and will as a substitute deal with those that use and exploit AI systems to harm.
Democratic Senator Scott Wiener, who authored the bill, said the proposal would create appropriate safety standards by stopping “catastrophic harm” from extremely powerful AI models that is likely to be developed in the longer term. The requirements would only apply to systems that cost greater than $100 million in computing power to coach. As of July, no current AI model has met that threshold.
“This is not about smaller AI models,” Wiener said recently at a parliamentary hearing. “This is about incredibly large and powerful models that, as far as we know, do not yet exist today, but will exist in the near future.”
Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom has touted California as an early AI adopter and regulator, saying the state could soon use generative AI tools to scale back highway congestion, make roads safer and supply tax policies. At the identical time, his government is considering New rules against discrimination against AI users in recruitment processes. He declined to comment on the bill, but warned that over-regulation could put the state in a “dangerous situation.”
The proposal, which is backed by a few of the most famous AI researchers, also calls for the creation of a brand new state agency to oversee developers and supply best practices. The attorney general could also take legal motion in case of violations.
A growing coalition of technology firms argues that the necessities would prevent firms from developing large AI systems or developing their technology Open-Source.
“The bill will make the AI ​​ecosystem less secure, jeopardize open source models that startups and small businesses rely on, rely on standards that don’t exist, and lead to regulatory fragmentation,” Rob Sherman, Meta’s vp and deputy privacy commissioner, wrote in a letter to lawmakers.
The proposal could also result in firms leaving the state to avoid regulations, the state’s Chamber of Commerce said.
Opponents wish to wait for further guidelines from the federal government. Supporters of the bill said California cannot wait and pointed to hard lessons it has learned by not taking motion against social media firms quickly enough.
State lawmakers also considered one other ambitious measure to combat Automation discrimination when firms use AI models to screen resumes and rental apartment applications.
