California AI bills advance as Congress considers state-level regulation ban
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Two California bills aiming to regulate artificial intelligence passed the state Senate this week.
Why it matters: Those bills — both authored by Sen. Steve Padilla (D-San Diego) are clashing with efforts in D.C. to stop state-level AI legislation.
- House Republicans' reconciliation bill would prohibit states or localities from regulating AI for a decade.
State of play: One bill, SB 243, aims to counter tech marketing of chatbots as an alleviation to loneliness and mental health struggles.
- It would prohibit operators from relying on addictive practices to boost engagement, require notifications and reminders the bot is not human.
Between the lines: The other bill, SB 420, seeks to create a regulatory framework for AI systems.
- It would require for individuals to be notified when a public or private automated system is used to make decisions about them, how the tool works and in some cases to appeal for review by a person.
- The bill would also force an impact assessment on the purpose, use of data and potential for bias present in those automated systems.
What they're saying: "Tech companies would have us believe any regulation at all would be disastrous," Padilla said in a statement. "The truth is it would be disastrous to allow tech titans to operate AI without oversight, accountability, or restraint."
What's next: Both bills now move to the Assembly before a potential trip to the governor's desk.
The big picture: All over the country, states are advancing and implementing AI safeguards while Congress considers a national moratorium in the reconciliation bill.
- Padilla told Axios he "can't think of a more irresponsible or stupid thing to do at this juncture" than for Congress to pass the AI moratorium and stop state lawmakers from regulating the tech.
Threat level: The proposed federal moratorium could hinder California's broader efforts to develop a framework for governing AI models.
- In March, a working group appointed by Gov. Gavin Newsom released a report outlining guidance for policymakers on how to regulate the burgeoning industry, which Sen. Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco) said strikes "a thoughtful balance between the need for safeguards and the need to support innovation."
"AI presents tremendous opportunities to transform our world for the better. At the same time...the rapid pace of technological advancement in AI means policymakers must act with haste to impose reasonable guardrails to mitigate foreseeable risks," Wiener, who introduced AI whistleblower bill SB 53 in February, said in a statement .
The bottom line: California has historically led on tech regulation while Congress gets stuck in debate mode — first on privacy and now on AI.
- The state has enacted a wide range of bills addressing everything from digital replicas of individuals to election ads, and has more legislation in the works.
- On Tuesday, 260 state lawmakers from both sides of the aisle across all 50 states sent a letter to Congress urging lawmakers to oppose the moratorium.
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