California Governor Gavin Newsom has vetoed SB 1047, a significant bill aimed at regulating the development of artificial intelligence. Authored by State Senator Scott Wiener, the bill sought to hold companies developing AI models accountable for implementing safety protocols to prevent “critical harms.” The proposed regulations would have applied only to models with a cost of at least $100 million and that utilize 10^26 FLOPS (floating point operations) during training.

The bill faced opposition from many in Silicon Valley, including companies like OpenAI and prominent technologists such as Yann LeCun, chief AI scientist at Meta, as well as Democratic politicians like U.S. Congressman Ro Khanna. However, it was also amended based on feedback from AI company Anthropic and other critics.

Despite passing in California’s state legislature, there were lingering hopes among opponents that Newsom would veto the bill, especially since he had expressed reservations about it previously. In his veto statement, Newsom remarked, “While well-intentioned, SB 1047 does not take into account whether an AI system is deployed in high-risk environments, involves critical decision-making, or uses sensitive data. Instead, the bill applies stringent standards to even the most basic functions, as long as a large system deploys it. I do not believe this is the best approach to protecting the public from the real threats posed by the technology.”

Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi also criticized the bill, calling it “well-intentioned but ill-informed.” After the veto, she commended Newsom for recognizing the need to empower small entrepreneurs and academic institutions rather than allowing big tech to dominate.

In the same announcement, Newsom's office noted that he has signed 17 bills related to the regulation and deployment of AI technology in the past 30 days. He has enlisted experts like Fei-Fei Li, Tino Cuéllar, and Jennifer Tour Chayes to assist California in developing effective guidelines for the deployment of generative AI. Fei-Fei Li, often referred to as the “godmother of AI,” had previously stated that SB 1047 would “harm our budding AI ecosystem.”

In response to the veto, Senator Wiener expressed disappointment, calling it “a setback for everyone who believes in oversight of massive corporations that are making critical decisions affecting public safety and the future of the planet.” He added that the debate surrounding the bill has significantly advanced discussions on AI safety on the international stage.