Brandon Fletcher
On Wednesday, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed two significant bills aimed at regulating artificial intelligence (AI), a move prompted by alarming remarks from AI researcher Jacob Coxon, who recently left Anthropic. Coxon raised concerns about industry leaders potentially accelerating catastrophic outcomes associated with AI technologies. Interestingly, these new regulations have garnered support from the AI sector itself.
Politico reported last month that Anthropic publicly backed the proposed legislation. OpenAI, a major competitor of Anthropic, also expressed its endorsement just hours before Newsom’s signing ceremony.
Chris Lehane, OpenAI’s Chief of Public Affairs, highlighted the urgency of evolving AI capabilities in the company’s statement, asserting, “We’ve reached a new chapter in AI capabilities, and that demands a new chapter for AI policy.”
When asked about Coxon’s warnings regarding unchecked AI, Newsom emphasized, “The concerns raised in recent incidents reinforce what California has long recognized: artificial intelligence holds extraordinary promise, but it must be developed and deployed with meaningful safeguards to protect the public.” He urged the federal government to initiate comprehensive national regulations that correspond to the current urgency.
Senator Jerry McNerney’s SB 813 establishes the California Artificial Intelligence Standards and Safety Commission, which will focus on developing voluntary safety standards for AI technologies.
In parallel, Assemblymember Rebecca Bauer-Kahan’s AB 1405 creates a registry for AI risk auditors, serving as a verification system for auditors’ qualifications.
OpenAI’s Lehane emphasized that the company intends to advocate for internationally aligned strategies for evaluating capabilities, managing risks, ensuring human oversight, and determining when AI development should be paused or halted, even if this means slowing the progression of AI models.
Anthropic’s response to Politico underscored its commitment to establishing safeguards, stating, “This is also why we believe the world would benefit from the industry adopting a lawful, verifiable way to work together to pace how we release powerful models.”
Daniel Mercer
