California Lawmakers Propose Competing Remedies for AI Safety

California state lawmakers have introduced diverging safety proposals for oversight of artificial intelligence development this year, setting up a clash between those wanting light-touch regulation and others seeking stricter rules to rein in the sector.

Most of the attention is on a new measure from Democratic state Senator Scott Wiener (SB 53) after Gov. Gavin Newsom vetoed his nationally watched bill last year that would require developers to take ambitious steps, such as building a shutdown capability, to stop catastrophes such as damage to critical infrastructure. Wiener’s second attempt, currently trimmed down, is making its way through legislative ...