Anthropic Supports California AI Bill, Citing Benefits Outweighing Costs

Anthropic says California AI bill's benefits likely outweigh costs

(Reuters) - The benefits of California's revised bill that seeks to regulate how artificial intelligence is developed and deployed in the state likely outweigh the costs, Anthropic said on Thursday. San Francisco-based Anthropic is a rival to ChatGPT-maker OpenAI and is backed by Amazon and Alphabet. California's proposed bill on AI regulation, SB 1047, advanced by State Senator Scott Wiener, a Democrat, mandates safety testing for many of the most advanced AI models that cost more than $100 million to develop or those that require a defined amount of computing power. Developers of AI software operating in the state would need to outline methods for turning off the AI models if they go awry, effectively a kill switch. The bill would also give the state attorney general the power to sue if developers are not compliant. WHY IT'S IMPORTANT Senator Wiener recently revised the bill to appease tech companies, relying in part on input from Anthropic. The revised bill did away with a provision for a government AI oversight committee. Tech companies developing AI - which can respond to prompts with fully-formed text, images or audio as well as run repetitive tasks with minimal intervention - have largely balked at the bill. Alphabet's Google and Meta have expressed concerns in letters to Wiener, with Meta saying the bill threatens to make the state unfavorable to AI development and deployment. OpenAI had said AI should be regulated by the federal government and that the California bill creates an uncertain legal environment. KEY QUOTES "In our assessment the new SB 1047 is substantially improved, to the point where we believe its benefits likely outweigh its costs. However, we are not certain of this, and there are still some aspects of the bill which seem concerning or ambiguous to us," Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei said in a letter to California Governor Gavin Newsom on Aug. 21. "Our initial concerns about the bill potentially hindering innovation due to the rapidly evolving nature of the field have been greatly reduced in the amended version." (Reporting by Jahnavi Nidumolu in Bengaluru; Editing by Mrigank Dhaniwala)

Anthropic Says California AI Bill's Benefits Likely Outweigh Costs

(Reuters) - The benefits of California's revised bill that seeks to regulate how artificial intelligence is developed and deployed in the state likely outweigh the costs, Anthropic said on Thursday. San Francisco-based Anthropic is a rival to ChatGPT-maker OpenAI and is backed by Amazon and Alphabet. California's proposed bill on AI regulation, SB 1047, advanced by State Senator Scott Wiener, a Democrat, mandates safety testing for many of the most advanced AI models that cost more than $100 million to develop or those that require a defined amount of computing power. Developers of AI software operating in the state would need to outline methods for turning off the AI models if they go awry, effectively a kill switch. The bill would also give the state attorney general the power to sue if developers are not compliant. WHY IT'S IMPORTANT Senator Wiener recently revised the bill to appease tech companies, relying in part on input from Anthropic. The revised bill did away with a provision for a government AI oversight committee. Tech companies developing AI - which can respond to prompts with fully-formed text, images or audio as well as run repetitive tasks with minimal intervention - have largely balked at the bill. Alphabet's Google and Meta have expressed concerns in letters to Wiener, with Meta saying the bill threatens to make the state unfavorable to AI development and deployment. OpenAI had said AI should be regulated by the federal government and that the California bill creates an uncertain legal environment. KEY QUOTES "In our assessment the new SB 1047 is substantially improved, to the point where we believe its benefits likely outweigh its costs. However, we are not certain of this, and there are still some aspects of the bill which seem concerning or ambiguous to us," Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei said in a letter to California Governor Gavin Newsom on Aug. 21. "Our initial concerns about the bill potentially hindering innovation due to the rapidly evolving nature of the field have been greatly reduced in the amended version." (Reporting by Jahnavi Nidumolu in Bengaluru; Editing by Mrigank Dhaniwala)

Anthropic says California AI bill's benefits likely outweigh costs

The benefits of California's revised bill that seeks to regulate how artificial intelligence is developed and deployed in the state likely outweigh the costs, Anthropic said on Thursday. San Francisco-based Anthropic is a rival to ChatGPT-maker OpenAI and is backed by Amazon and Alphabet. California's proposed bill on AI regulation, SB 1047, advanced by State Senator Scott Wiener, a Democrat, mandates safety testing for many of the most advanced AI models that cost more than $100 million to develop or those that require a defined amount of computing power. Developers of AI software operating in the state would need to outline methods for turning off the AI models if they go awry, effectively a kill switch. The bill would also give the state attorney general the power to sue if developers are not compliant. WHY IT'S IMPORTANT Senator Wiener recently revised the bill to appease tech companies, relying in part on input from Anthropic. The revised bill did away with a provision for a government AI oversight committee. Tech companies developing AI - which can respond to prompts with fully-formed text, images or audio as well as run repetitive tasks with minimal intervention - have largely balked at the bill. Alphabet's Google and Meta have expressed concerns in letters to Wiener, with Meta saying the bill threatens to make the state unfavorable to AI development and deployment. OpenAI had said AI should be regulated by the federal government and that the California bill creates an uncertain legal environment. KEY QUOTES "In our assessment the new SB 1047 is substantially improved, to the point where we believe its benefits likely outweigh its costs. However, we are not certain of this, and there are still some aspects of the bill which seem concerning or ambiguous to us," Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei said in a letter to California Governor Gavin Newsom on Aug. 21. "Our initial concerns about the bill potentially hindering innovation due to the rapidly evolving nature of the field have been greatly reduced in the amended version." (Reporting by Jahnavi Nidumolu in Bengaluru; Editing by Mrigank Dhaniwala)

Anthropic says California AI bill's benefits likely outweigh costs

The benefits of California's revised bill that seeks to regulate how artificial intelligence is developed and deployed in the state likely outweigh the costs, Anthropic said on Thursday. San Francisco-based Anthropic is a rival to ChatGPT-maker OpenAI and is backed by Amazon and Alphabet. California's proposed bill on AI regulation, SB 1047, advanced by State Senator Scott Wiener, a Democrat, mandates safety testing for many of the most advanced AI models that cost more than $100 million to develop or those that require a defined amount of computing power. Developers of AI software operating in the state would need to outline methods for turning off the AI models if they go awry, effectively a kill switch. The bill would also give the state attorney general the power to sue if developers are not compliant. Why its important Senator Wiener recently revised the bill to appease tech companies, relying in part on input from Anthropic. The revised bill did away with a provision for a government AI oversight committee. Tech companies developing AI - which can respond to prompts with fully-formed text, images or audio as well as run repetitive tasks with minimal intervention - have largely balked at the bill. Alphabet's Google and Meta have expressed concerns in letters to Wiener, with Meta saying the bill threatens to make the state unfavorable to AI development and deployment. OpenAI had said AI should be regulated by the federal government and that the California bill creates an uncertain legal environment. "In our assessment the new SB 1047 is substantially improved, to the point where we believe its benefits likely outweigh its costs. However, we are not certain of this, and there are still some aspects of the bill which seem concerning or ambiguous to us," Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei said in a letter to California Governor Gavin Newsom on Aug. 21. "Our initial concerns about the bill potentially hindering innovation due to the rapidly evolving nature of the field have been greatly reduced in the amended version." Read Comments

Anthropic says California AI bill's benefits likely outweigh costs

California's proposed bill on AI regulation, SB 1047, advanced by State Senator Scott Wiener, a Democrat, mandates safety testing for many of the most advanced AI models that cost more than $100 million to develop or those that require a defined amount of computing power.The benefits of California's revised bill that seeks to regulate how artificial intelligence is developed and deployed in the state likely outweigh the costs, Anthropic said on Thursday. San Francisco-based Anthropic is a rival to ChatGPT-maker OpenAI and is backed by Amazon and Alphabet. California's proposed bill on AI regulation, SB 1047, advanced by State Senator Scott Wiener, a Democrat, mandates safety testing for many of the most advanced AI models that cost more than $100 million to develop or those that require a defined amount of computing power. Developers of AI software operating in the state would need to outline methods for turning off the AI models if they go awry, effectively a kill switch. The bill would also give the state attorney general the power to sue if developers are not compliant. Why it's important Senator Wiener recently revised the bill to appease tech companies, relying in part on input from Anthropic. The revised bill did away with a provision for a government AI oversight committee. Tech companies developing AI - which can respond to prompts with fully-formed text, images or audio as well as run repetitive tasks with minimal intervention - have largely balked at the bill. Alphabet's Google and Meta have expressed concerns in letters to Wiener, with Meta saying the bill threatens to make the state unfavorable to AI development and deployment. OpenAI had said AI should be regulated by the federal government and that the California bill creates an uncertain legal environment. "In our assessment the new SB 1047 is substantially improved, to the point where we believe its benefits likely outweigh its costs. However, we are not certain of this, and there are still some aspects of the bill which seem concerning or ambiguous to us," Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei said in a letter to California Governor Gavin Newsom on Aug. 21. "Our initial concerns about the bill potentially hindering innovation due to the rapidly evolving nature of the field have been greatly reduced in the amended version."

Anthropic says California AI bill's benefits likely outweigh costs

California's proposed bill on AI regulation, SB 1047, advanced by State Senator Scott Wiener, a Democrat, mandates safety testing for many of the most advanced AI models that cost more than $100 million to develop or those that require a defined amount of computing power. Developers of AI software operating in the state would need to outline methods for turning off the AI models if they go awry, effectively a kill switch. The bill would also give the state attorney general the power to sue if developers are not compliant. Senator Wiener recently revised the bill to appease tech companies, relying in part on input from Anthropic. The revised bill did away with a provision for a government AI oversight committee. Tech companies developing AI - which can respond to prompts with fully-formed text, images or audio as well as run repetitive tasks with minimal intervention - have largely balked at the bill. Alphabet's Google and Meta have expressed concerns in letters to Wiener, with Meta saying the bill threatens to make the state unfavorable to AI development and deployment. OpenAI had said AI should be regulated by the federal government and that the California bill creates an uncertain legal environment. "In our assessment the new SB 1047 is substantially improved, to the point where we believe its benefits likely outweigh its costs. However, we are not certain of this, and there are still some aspects of the bill which seem concerning or ambiguous to us," Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei said in a letter to California Governor Gavin Newsom on Aug. 21. "Our initial concerns about the bill potentially hindering innovation due to the rapidly evolving nature of the field have been greatly reduced in the amended version." (Reporting by Jahnavi Nidumolu in Bengaluru; Editing by Mrigank Dhaniwala)

Anthropic CEO Backs California AI Bill, But Still Has Concerns

Dario Amodei, co-founder and CEO of Anthropic (Credit: Chesnot / Contributor / Getty Images Entertainment via Getty Images) Anthropic supports an amended version of California AI bill SB 1047, but says it still lacks clarity in some areas and leaves room for improvement. "The new SB 1047 is substantially improved, to the point where we believe its benefits likely outweigh its costs," says CEO Dario Amodei in a letter to California Governor Gavin Newsom. "However, we are not certain of this, and there are still some aspects of the bill which seem concerning or ambiguous to us." SB 1047 has already cleared a 32-1 vote in the state Senate, as well as an initial vote in the Assembly. It now goes to a final vote by the full Assembly, which must occur by August 31. If it passes, it would advance to Newsom to sign or veto by September 30, according to Reuters. The bill faces opposition from those who say it could stifle innovation, such as Google and Meta. Last week, some members of Congress, including Nancy Pelosi, wrote a letter to Newsom calling the legislation "well-intentioned but ill informed." Anthropic had similar concerns about hampering innovation after reading the first draft, but those fears have been "greatly reduced" in the new version. The proposed compliance mechanisms are now a feasible burden, and are critical to address the "real and serious concerns with catastrophic risk in AI systems," Amodei says, which he believes could begin to take shape in the next three years. SB 1047 could help protect the public by requiring AI companies to adopt safety and security protocols (SSPs), and to disclose them honestly. "Nothing prevents companies from making misleading statements about their SSPs or about the results of the tests they have conducted as part of their SSPs," Amodei says. "It is a major improvement, with very little downside, that SB 1047 requires companies to adopt some SSP (whose details are up to them) and to be honest with the public." The bill could also incentivize companies to mitigate abuse of their systems, and push forward research efforts to greater understand those risks. As for the cons, Amodei says the proposal disproportionately affects large AI companies and largely exempts smaller players. It's also still too restrictive in some areas. For example, it gives the Attorney General license to enforce the bill before any harm has occurred, which could lead to overreach.