A bill seeking to regulate artificial intelligence developed in California is moving toward becoming law. SB-1047, the Safe and Secure Innovation for Frontier Artificial Intelligence Models Act, cleared the legislature with a 41-9 vote on Wednesday, as reported by Politico.
After a procedural vote, it will head to the desk of Gov. Gavin Newsom to either become law or be vetoed by the end of September.
The bill is an attempt to curb the growing power of generative AI (AI tools that can generate information and answers by scouring through the data they’ve been trained on) being developed by companies including OpenAI, Google, Apple, Meta and many others.
The so-called Doomer bill has been endorsed by Elon Musk but is being opposed by politicians including Nancy Pelosi, tech firms and venture capitalists who say the bill will stifle innovation in the birthplace of many of these technologies.
The bill itself would require safety testing of AI models costing more than $100 million to develop or that need a large amount of computing power.
AI companies would also need to build in a kill switch to prevent AI from running amok and would be overseen by the state’s attorney general, who would have the power to sue over compliance.
The bill also requires AI companies to have third-party auditors and to provide protections to whistleblowers.
“SB-1047 would stifle AI development in California, hurt business growth and job creation, and break from the state’s long tradition of fostering open-source innovation. This bill is well intended but not ready to become law,” a Meta spokesperson said in an emailed statement.
Apple, Google and OpenAI didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
Since it was introduced in February by Democratic state Sen. Scott Wiener, who represents San Francisco, the bill has drawn discussion and worry over how it could impact the state’s tech industry. A coalition of several tech-focused groups, including Chamber of Progress, NetChoice and Silicon Valley Leadership Group, sent an open letter to Newsom urging him to veto the bill.