SB 53, the AI security and transparency invoice that California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed into legislation this week, is proof that state regulation doesn’t should hinder AI progress.
So says Adam Billen, vice chairman of public coverage at youth-led advocacy group Encode AI, on in the present day’s episode of Fairness.
“The truth is that coverage makers themselves know that we have now to do one thing, they usually know from engaged on one million different points that there’s a technique to go laws that genuinely does defend innovation — which I do care about — whereas ensuring that these merchandise are secure,” Billen informed TechCrunch.
At its core, SB 53 is a first-in-the-nation invoice that requires giant AI labs to be clear about their security and safety protocols – particularly round how they forestall their fashions from catastrophic dangers, like getting used to commit cyber assaults on essential infrastructure or construct bio-weapons. The legislation additionally mandates that firms persist with these protocols, which can be enforced by the Workplace of Emergency Companies.
“Firms are already doing the stuff that we ask them to do on this invoice,” Billen informed TechCrunch. “They do security testing on their fashions. They launch mannequin playing cards. Are they beginning to skimp in some areas at some firms? Sure. And that’s why payments like this are necessary.”
Billen additionally famous that some AI corporations have a coverage round enjoyable security requirements beneath aggressive stress. OpenAI, for instance, has publicly acknowledged that it could “modify” its security necessities if a rival AI lab releases a high-risk system with out comparable safeguards. Billen argues that coverage can implement firms’ present security guarantees, stopping them from chopping corners beneath aggressive or monetary stress.
Whereas public opposition to SB 53 was muted in comparability to its predecessor SB 1047, which Newsom vetoed final 12 months, the rhetoric in Silicon Valley and amongst most AI labs has been that just about any AI regulation is anathema to progress and can finally hinder the U.S. in its race to beat China.
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It’s why firms like Meta, VCs like Andreessen Horowitz, and highly effective people like OpenAI president Greg Brockman are collectively pumping tons of of hundreds of thousands into tremendous PACs to again pro-AI politicians in state elections. And it’s why those self same forces earlier this 12 months pushed for an AI moratorium that will have banned states from regulating AI for 10 years.
Encode AI ran a coalition of greater than 200 organizations to work to strike down the proposal, however Billen says the battle isn’t over. Senator Ted Cruz, who championed the moratorium, is trying a brand new technique to realize the identical objective of federal preemption of state legal guidelines. In September, Cruz launched the SANDBOX Act, which might permit AI firms to use for waivers to briefly bypass sure federal laws for as much as 10 years. Billen additionally anticipates a forthcoming invoice establishing a federal AI normal that will be pitched as a middle-ground answer however would in actuality override state legal guidelines.
He warned that narrowly scoped federal AI laws might “delete federalism for a very powerful know-how of our time.”
“In the event you informed me SB 53 was the invoice that will change all of the state payments on every thing associated to AI and all the potential dangers, I might inform you that’s most likely not an excellent concept and that this invoice is designed for a specific subset of issues,” Billen stated.
Whereas he agrees that the AI race with China issues, and that policymakers must enact regulation that may help American progress, he says killing state payments – which primarily give attention to deepfakes, transparency, algorithmic discrimination, youngsters’s security, and governmental use of AI — isn’t the way in which to go about doing that.
“Are payments like SB 53 the factor that may cease us from beating China? No,” he stated. “I feel it is simply genuinely intellectually dishonest to say that that’s the factor that may cease us within the race.”
He added: “If the factor you care about is thrashing China within the race on AI — and I do care about that – then the belongings you would push for are stuff like export controls in Congress,” Billen stated. “You’ll ensure that American firms have the chips. However that’s not what the trade is pushing for.”
Legislative proposals just like the Chip Safety Act goal to forestall the diversion of superior AI chips to China by means of export controls and monitoring units, and the present CHIPS and Science Act seeks to spice up home chip manufacturing. Nevertheless, some main tech firms, together with OpenAI and Nvidia, have expressed reluctance or opposition to sure elements of those efforts, citing issues about effectiveness, competitiveness, and safety vulnerabilities.
Nvidia has its causes – it has a powerful monetary incentive to proceed promoting chips to China, which has traditionally represented a good portion of its world income. Billen speculated that OpenAI might maintain again on chip export advocacy to remain within the good graces of essential suppliers like Nvidia.
There’s additionally been inconsistent messaging from the Trump administration. Three months increasing an export ban on superior AI chips to China in April 2025, the administration reversed course, permitting Nvidia and AMD to promote some chips to China in change for 15% of the income.
“You see folks on the Hill shifting in direction of payments just like the Chip Safety Act that will put export controls on China,” Billen stated. “Within the meantime, there’s going to proceed to be this propping up of the narrative to kill state payments which might be really fairly mild robust.”
Bilen added that SB 53 is an instance of democracy in motion – of trade and policymakers working collectively to get to a model of a invoice that everybody can agree on. It’s “very ugly and messy,” however “that strategy of democracy and federalism is your complete basis of our nation and our financial system, and I hope that we are going to hold doing that efficiently.”
“I feel SB 53 is without doubt one of the greatest proof factors that that may nonetheless work,” he stated.
