Elon Musk endorses California AI regulation bill: 'Tough call'

Tech billionaire Elon Musk has said that California should pass a controversial bill that would regulate artificial intelligence (AI) through having tech companies and AI developers be responsible for safety testing and implementing safeguards against cyberattacks.

Musk, who owns the social media platform X, wrote in a post on the website that endorsing California’s SB 1047 AI safety bill was not an easy decision.

"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 wrote. "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."

The bill would require developers who spend more than $100 million to build an AI model to implement safety testing and safeguards, while also allowing the state attorney general to take civil action against the developers of AI models that cause "critical harm," which the bill defines as causing mass casualties or at least $500 million in damages.

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The bill would also require developers to enact a protocol that can "enact a full shutdown" of the AI model at any time and provide for whistleblower protections.

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SB 1047 is just one of 65 bills that California state lawmakers have attempted to introduce regarding AI during the legislative season, Reuters reported, adding that many of the bills were already dead.

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As the 2024 U.S. presidential election nears, experts have warned about the potential spread of misinformation that AI and other tools can produce.