Anthropic believes California AI bill’s benefits may surpass its costs

California’s revised bill on AI regulation, SB 1047, has drawn significant attention from tech companies, including San Francisco-based Anthropic, a competitor to OpenAI. The bill, introduced by State Senator Scott Wiener, seeks to mandate safety testing for advanced AI models that are costly to develop and establish a ‘kill switch’ for malfunctioning AI.

While the bill has faced opposition from major tech players like Google, Meta, and OpenAI, Anthropic’s CEO, Dario Amodei, has noted that recent amendments have improved the bill, making its benefits potentially outweigh its costs, though some concerns remain. Tech companies have largely opposed the bill, arguing that it could hinder AI development in California and create an uncertain legal environment.

Meta, in particular, warned that the bill could make the state less attractive for AI innovation. OpenAI has advocated for federal rather than state regulation, citing the bill’s potential to complicate the legal landscape for AI developers.

Despite these concerns, the revised version of SB 1047 has been seen as a step forward by some in the tech community. Amodei acknowledged that while the bill’s initial version raised fears of stifling innovation, the amendments have alleviated many of those worries. However, he still sees some aspects of the bill as potentially problematic.