California Gov. Gavin Newsom Vetoes High-Profile AI Bill

On Sept. 29, California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) vetoed the state legislature’s controversial artificial intelligence bill, Senate Bill 1047. This decision comes amid staunch resistance to the bill from many in Silicon Valley, including OpenAI.

The bill, which the state passed in August, sought to prevent AI models with certain levels of compute from being used to produce “critical harms,” including cyberattacks and the creation of weapons of mass destruction. To achieve this aim, the law would impose a form of liability on developers of large language models.

Newsom wrote in a message accompanying his veto that although the bill was “well-intentioned,” it “does not take into account whether an AI system is deployed in high-risk environments, involves critical decision-making or the use of sensitive data.” Rather, according to Newsom, “the bill applies stringent standards to even the most basic functions — so long as a large system deploys it.”

The governor added that despite his decision to veto the law, a “California-only approach” may be the appropriate path forward, especially if Congress does not take legislative action.

You can read the veto message here or below.