Elon Musk Advocates for Controversial AI Bill, Counters OpenAI & Google

As a seasoned researcher with a keen interest in AI and its ethical implications, I find myself intrigued by the current debate surrounding California’s AI Safety Bill (SB 1047) and the counterproposal, AB 3211, championed by OpenAI.


Elon Musk, CEO of both Tesla and SpaceX, has recently expressed his backing for the California AI Safety Bill (SB 1047), generating interest throughout the broader sector. This unique legislation focuses on regulating artificial intelligence (AI) development. Meanwhile, other industries are actively debating this AI bill, with influential player OpenAI even considering support for a different proposal.

Elon Musk Supports SB 1047 California AI Bill

On August 27, a post on X featured Elon Musk expressing his viewpoint that California might want to approve the SB 1047 AI safety legislation, despite potential controversy. As major AI companies challenge this bill, Musk’s statement has garnered considerable attention within the industry.

The SB 1037 Law requires developers of AI systems who invest over $100 million in model creation to perform ‘safety assessments.’ If these companies fail to comply with the law and their negligence results in damages worth more than $500 million, it falls upon the attorney general to take legal action against the responsible developer.

Nevertheless, the proposed Bill has faced intense criticism from significant players in the industry like OpenAI and Google. Lately, Jason Kwon, OpenAI’s Chief Strategy Officer, suggested that the California AI bill might restrict the development and advancement of crucial sectors. At the same time, it appears that OpenAI under Sam Altman’s leadership is advocating for a different AI bill, in contrast to Elon Musk’s backing of SB 1047.

OpenAI Supports AB 3211 AI Bill

In a reversal, it seems the company behind ChatGPT is backing the AB 3211 AI Bill, which proposes ‘watermarking’ of AI-created content. This bill would obligate tech firms to identify any content produced by artificial intelligence, ranging from innocuous memes to deepfakes designed to disseminate misinformation about political figures.

Despite AB 3211’s current significance, it is overshadowed by SB 1047. There’s ongoing debate in the industry about whether the California AI ‘Safety Bill’ will be used to restrict access to models trained by companies that offer public services.

In response to Elon Musk’s post today, Vitalik Buterin, co-founder of Ethereum, stated that recent legislative developments suggest an attempt to encompass open systems under its jurisdiction. Yet, he also mentioned that a charitable interpretation of the bill implies a (mid-term) objective to enforce safety testing.

In a new development, Elon Musk’s social media platform X is drawing worldwide interest. This comes after the arrest of Telegram founder, Pavel Durov, which has led Musk to express concerns that X could also face scrutiny over censorship issues.

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2024-08-27 11:00