Gov. Newsom Rejects Controversial California AI Legislation SB 1047: What This Means for the Future of AI in the State

California Governor Gavin Newsom has vetoed SB 1047, a significant bill aimed at regulating artificial intelligence development. This legislation, introduced by State Senator Scott Wiener, sought to hold AI companies accountable for implementing safety protocols to mitigate "critical harms." Specifically, it would have applied to AI models that cost over $100 million and require at least 10^26 FLOPS (floating point operations, a measure of computational power) during training.

The bill faced considerable opposition from key players in Silicon Valley, including OpenAI, Meta’s chief AI scientist Yann LeCun, and even some Democratic politicians like U.S. Congressman Ro Khanna. Although the bill underwent amendments influenced by feedback from AI company Anthropic and other critics, it ultimately did not sway all opinions. While California's legislature passed SB 1047, there remained hope among opponents that Newsom would exercise his veto power—something he had indicated he was contemplating early on.

In his veto statement, Newsom remarked, “While well-intentioned, SB 1047 overlooks crucial factors such as whether an AI system operates in high-risk environments, entails significant decision-making, or processes sensitive data. The bill imposes strict standards even on basic functions, as long as they are part of a large system. I don’t believe this is the optimal strategy for safeguarding the public from genuine risks posed by emerging technology.”

Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi also criticized the bill as “well-intentioned but ill-informed.” Following the announcement of the veto, she commended Newsom for "recognizing our collective responsibility to empower small entrepreneurs and academic institutions—rather than allowing large tech companies to lead."

In conjunction with his veto, Newsom's office highlighted that he has signed 17 bills (18 by our count) related to AI regulation and deployment in the past month. He has also commissioned experts like Fei-Fei Li, Tino Cuéllar, and Jennifer Tour Chayes to assist California in establishing effective guidelines for General Artificial Intelligence. Li, often referred to as the “godmother of AI,” previously warned that SB 1047 would "harm our budding AI ecosystem."

Wiener responded to the veto by labeling it “a setback for those advocating for oversight of large corporations making critical decisions that impact public safety and the future of our planet.” He added that the discussions surrounding the bill have significantly raised awareness about AI safety on an international scale.

AI, Gavin Newsom, Government Policy, SB 1047