California Bill to Regulate Artificial Intelligence Heats up AI Debate

A bill with support and opposition from dozens of stakeholders cleared a key legislative hurdle Aug. 15 and will next proceed to the Assembly floor in the coming weeks. Senate Bill 1047, authored by Sen. Scott Wiener with the intention of regulating the AI industry to protect Californians, he says, from potential safety risks has been hotly contested by the tech industry though other groups say they fear, if passed, it could jeopardize state and national security. The author said the bill is needed to safeguard California from malicious uses of AI technology. “Large-scale artificial intelligence has the potential to produce an incredible range of benefits for Californians and our economy—from advances in medicine and climate science to improved wildfire forecasting and clean power development,” Wiener said in legislative analyses. “It also gives us an opportunity to apply hard lessons learned over the last decade, as we’ve seen the consequences of allowing the unchecked growth of new technology without evaluating, understanding, or mitigating the risks.”...