🔥California Cracks Down on AI

Breaking down California’s new AI laws and what’s still in the pipeline

Key Points 

• Governor Newsom has signed laws targeting AI deepfakes and banning unauthorized AI replicas of actors' voices or bodies, aiming to protect public and industry interests.

• Newsom is still weighing SB 1047 and has raised concerns about its possible effects on the open-source AI community, emphasizing the need to address practical issues over hypothetical ones.

♨️News - California Governor Gavin Newsom has just signed some of the strictest AI regulations in the country. The new laws tackle AI deepfakes that might affect elections and ban Hollywood studios from making AI replicas of actors' voices or bodies without their permission.

In a press release, Newsom’s office noted that California, being home to many top AI companies, is focused on using these technologies to solve important problems while also studying the risks they might pose.

🧐What’s changing now? 

• Of the newly signed laws, AB 2655 requires major platforms like Facebook and X to either remove or label AI deepfakes related to elections and provide ways to report such content. If these platforms don’t follow the rules, candidates and officials can take them to court.

• Another law, AB 2355, mandates disclosure of AI-generated political ads. This means, for example, that Trump can’t post AI-generated deepfakes of celebrities endorsing him without making it clear that they’re fake. 

• The last two laws, supported by the SAG-AFTRA union, set new standards for the media industry. AB 2602 says studios need permission from actors before making AI replicas of their voice or image. AB 1836 bans the creation of digital replicas of deceased actors without consent from their estates.

🥸What’s more? Governor Newsom is currently mulling over 38 AI-related bills, including the hotly debated SB 1047, which is now on his desk for a final decision. Recently, during a discussion with Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff, Newsom hinted at his concerns about how SB 1047 could affect the open-source AI community.

Newsom remarked that SB 1047 has gotten a lot of attention and expressed his worries about distinguishing between real and hypothetical risks with AI. He emphasized that his focus is on addressing practical issues rather than trying to cover every possible risk.

Biden administration to host global AI safety summit in San Francisco

Key Points 

• The Biden administration is hosting a global AI safety summit in San Francisco on November 20-21.

• Experts from major countries, including the UK, EU, and Japan, will attend to discuss AI safety.

• The meeting aims to foster technical collaboration and set AI guidelines based on safety and trust.

☕News - The Biden administration is gearing up to host a global summit on AI safety, as Congress continues to face difficulties in regulating the technology. 

Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo and Secretary of State Anthony Blinken will lead this first meeting of the International Network of AI Safety Institutes in San Francisco on November 20-21. 

👥Who's coming? The International Network of AI Safety Institutes includes countries like Australia, Canada, the EU, France, Japan, Kenya, South Korea, Singapore, the UK, and the US. For the San Francisco meeting, technical experts from each of these countries' AI safety institutes, or their equivalent government offices, will be attending.

📑What's the agenda? The San Francisco meeting aims to jumpstart technical collaboration before the AI Action Summit in Paris this coming February. Raimondo emphasized that the goal is 'close, thoughtful coordination' with allies to ensure that AI guidelines are rooted in safety, security, and trust.