Why Silicon Valley wants to kill this AI bill

August 12, 2024

246

Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai speaks at a Google I/O event in Mountain View, on May 14, 2024. California lawmakers are weighing a bill that would regulate powerful artificial intelligence systems but big tech companies, including Google, say the legislation would hamper innovation. Photo by Jeff Chiu, AP Photo

Why Silicon Valley is trying so hard to kill this AI bill in California

Though lawmakers and advocates proposed dozens of bills to regulate artificial intelligence in California this year, none have attracted more disdain from big tech companies, startup founders, and investors than the Safe and Secure Innovation for Frontier Artificial Intelligence Models Act.

In letters to lawmakers, Meta said the legislation, Senate Bill 1047, will “deter AI innovation in California at a time where we should be promoting it,” while Google claimed the bill will make “California one of the world’s least favorable jurisdictions for AI development and deployment.” A letter signed by more than 130 startup founders and incubator Y Combinator goes even further, claiming that “vague language” could “kill California tech.”