Earlier this week, California’s governor Gavin Newsom signed a new regulation designed to make sure secure improvement and deployment of frontier AI fashions.
“California has confirmed that we will set up laws to guard our communities whereas additionally making certain that the rising AI trade continues to thrive,” Newsom stated. “This laws strikes that stability. AI is the brand new frontier in innovation, and California is just not solely right here for it – however stands sturdy as a nationwide chief by enacting the first-in-the-nation frontier AI security laws that builds public belief as this rising know-how quickly evolves.”
The regulation, SB 53, establishes necessities for firms creating frontier AI fashions, spanning 5 classes: transparency, innovation, security, accountability, and responsiveness.
To make sure transparency, SB 53 requires that frontier mannequin builders publish a framework on their web site that describes how they’re incorporating nationwide and worldwide requirements and trade finest practices.
With a view to assist innovation, a brand new consortium known as CalCompute might be shaped to assist analysis that may advance improvement of AI that’s secure, moral, equitable, and sustainable.
The regulation additionally creates a brand new security mechanism for AI firms and the general public to report important security incidents to California’s Workplace of Emergency Companies.
It additionally units up protections for whistleblowers who come ahead with information of serious well being and security dangers that frontier fashions pose, in addition to creates a civil penalty for noncompliance.
Lastly, SB 53 directs the California Division of Expertise to suggest annual updates to the regulation based mostly on enter from a number of stakeholders, technological developments, and worldwide requirements.
“With a know-how as transformative as AI, we have now a accountability to assist that innovation whereas putting in commonsense guardrails to grasp and cut back danger. With this regulation, California is stepping up, as soon as once more, as a world chief on each know-how innovation and security,” stated Senator Scott Wiener, who authored SB 53.
Mayank Kumar, founding AI engineer on the AI safety firm DeepTempo, believes it is a welcome step ahead for the accountable use of AI. He defined that normal our bodies comparable to NIST and ISO have already launched AI security frameworks, and that this new regulation will velocity up the enforcement course of.
“This regulation rightfully treats AI as a important rising know-how that, for the sake of public security, should be regulated. Its concentrate on necessary incident reporting is especially essential, establishing a framework just like cybersecurity protocols the place transparency is vital to managing systemic dangers and constructing a tradition of accountability,” he stated.
