CAIP Condemns Governor Newsom’s Veto of Critical AI Regulation Bill

Washington, DC—In a disappointing move that prioritizes corporate interests and Big Tech over public safety and common sense, Governor Gavin Newsom has vetoed SB 1047, a crucial bill to ensure the responsible development and deployment of artificial intelligence (AI) in California and beyond.

SB 1047 was supported by 77% of Californians and expert computer scientists like Geoffrey Hinton, Yoshua Bengio, and Stuart Russell. As they put it, “Relative to the scale of risks we are facing, this is a remarkably light-touch piece of legislation.” The bill would have introduced much-needed accountability measures for large AI companies, such as requiring companies spending over $100 million on AI model training to implement basic safety protocols and maintain the ability to shut down potentially harmful systems.

"Governor Newsom's decision to veto SB 1047 is a significant setback for AI safety and responsible innovation," said Jason Green-Lowe, executive director at the Center for AI Policy (CAIP). "This bill resulted from extensive collaboration with industry stakeholders and technologists and had already been amended multiple times to address concerns. The Governor's veto ignores the urgent need for proactive measures to mitigate AI risks."

Advocates for AI safety stress that SB 1047 was the only bill on Governor Newsom’s desk that meaningfully addressed catastrophic risks. Governor Newsom is endangering the public by addressing other AI-related challenges but ignoring catastrophic risks. CAIP urges Governor Newsom to reconsider his position and work with California legislators to reintroduce and pass similar measures in the next session.

"The catastrophic risks associated with advanced AI systems are real and growing," added Green-Lowe. "OpenAI admits that it cannot rule out the possibility that o1-preview, its latest model, could cause catastrophic harm. By next year, the cutting-edge models will be even more dangerous. We cannot afford to wait until we face a crisis to act. Governor Newsom's veto of SB 1047 is a missed opportunity to lead on this critical issue."