Elon Musk backs California’s new bill that seeks to create guardrails around AI

Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk on Tuesday came out in support of a new California bill that aims to create guardrails around artificial intelligence (AI).

The California “SB 1047 AI safety bill” aims to prevent large AI models from being used to cause “critical harms” against humanity.

In a post on X social media platform, the tech billionaire said that “this is a tough call and will make some people upset, but, all things considered, I think California should probably pass the SB 1047 AI safety bill”.

Musk further said that for over 20 years, “I have been an advocate for AI regulation, just as we regulate any product/technology that is a potential risk to the public”.

Musk, whose own AI company xAI, would be subject to the bill’s requirements despite his pledge to leave California.

The AI bill also requires a safety protocol to prevent misuses of covered AI products, including an “emergency stop” button that shuts down the entire AI model.

Meanwhile, ChatGPT maker OpenAI has opposed the AI bill. In a letter to California state Senator Scott Wiener and Governor Gavin Newsom, the Sam Altman-run company said the AI revolution is only just beginning, and California’s unique status as the global leader in AI is fuelling the state’s economic dynamism.

“SB 1047 would threaten that growth, slow the pace of innovation, and lead California’s world-class engineers and entrepreneurs to leave the state in search of greater opportunity elsewhere,” OpenAi said in the letter.

“Given those risks, we must protect America’s AI edgewith a set of federal policies — rather than state ones — that can provide clarity and certainty for AI labs and developers while also preserving public safety,” the AI company added.

In a response, Wiener wrote that instead of criticising what the bill actually does, “OpenAI argues this issue should be left to Congress”.

“OpenAI also raises national security concerns. Far from undermining national security, SB 1047’s requirements that AI companies thoroughly test their products for the ability to cause catastrophic harm can only strengthen our national security,” he said.

OpenAI claimed that companies will leave California if the bill passes.

“This tired argument — which the tech industry also made when California passed its data privacy law, with that fear never materializing — makes no sense given that SB 1047 is not limited to companies headquartered in California. Rather, the bill applies to companies doing business in California,” Wiener informed.

–(With inputs from IANS)