With Great Power… California is on the verge of passing a bill that would enforce sweeping regulations in the AI industry, after it was approved in the state’s Assembly Appropriations Committee on Thursday. The bill, SB 1047, proposes a number of safety requirements for AI developers to prevent “severe harm,” and includes provisions that could hold them accountable for the output of their AI models. Now OpenAI, which has advocated for regulation in the past, is joining other tech companies, as well as some politicians, in decrying the bill, arguing that it would hurt innovation in the industry, Bloomberg reports. “The AI revolution is only just beginning, and California’s unique status as the global leader in AI is fueling the state’s economic dynamism,” Jason Kwon, chief strategy officer at OpenAI, wrote in a letter to state Senator Scott Wiener, who introduced the bill, as quoted by Bloomberg. “SB 1047 would threaten that growth, slow the pace of innovation, and lead California’s world-class engineers and entrepreneurs to leave the state in search of greater opportunity elsewhere.” Playing It Safe In more specific terms, the bill would give the California attorney general the power to seek an injunction against tech companies that put out unsafe AI models, according to Platformer’s analysis. If successfully sued, these companies could face civil penalties — though not criminal penalties. To be compliant, businesses would need to carry out mandated safety testing for any AI models that either cost more than $100 million to develop or require more…Tech Companies Furious at New Law That Would Hold Them Accountable When Their AI Does Bad Stuff