Report from TechCrunch
In Brief – The California Legislature has passed SB 53, the “Transparency in Frontier Artificial Intelligence Act” (TFAIA), that imposes new AI transparency requirements, especially for large developers, and creates whistleblower protections for employees at AI labs. California Governor Gavin Newsom again faces the choice of signing or vetoing a measure that raises over-regulation concerns with many in the state’s AI, technology, and venture capital industries. In a recent letter to Newsom, OpenAI did not mention SB 53 specifically but argued that to avoid “duplication and inconsistencies,” companies should be considered compliant with statewide safety rules if they meet federal or European standards. Anthropic, meanwhile, has come out in favor of SB 53.
Context – AI regulation notched some landmark wins in 2024, especially with the EU’s huge AI Act. Colorado also became the first US state to enact broad AI regulation that year, while the UK and Japan appeared to be moving in that direction. But momentum shifted last fall, with President Trump staking out a strong pro-industry position which is now reflected in his anti-regulatory AI Action plan. California passed a slew of AI-related bills in 2024. The highest profile was SB 1047, “AI safety” legislation often compared to the EU AI Act. Governor Newsome vetoed it, but did sign AB 2655 and AB 2839, two laws addressing election deepfakes. Both have been blocked by a federal judge. The UK and Japan have since stepped back from AI regulation, and the pace of the EU’s AI rules is now being criticized by European business leaders and noteworthy current and former government officials. This summer’s big Republican budget reconciliation legislation initially included a 10-year moratorium on restrictive state AI laws, but it proved to be a deregulatory bridge too far and was pulled from the bill. Backers continue to argue that state level regulation, especially by California, will slow AI advancement in the country. Like in California, New York’s governor is pondering whether to sign state-level AI regulation into law.