Press Release
Statement from Economic Security California Action on the California Senate’s Passage of Landmark AI Legislation
05. 22. 2024
Sen. Wiener’s SB 1047 would establish CalCompute, a public computing cluster.
Sacramento, CA – Tuesday night, Sen. Wiener’s SB 1047 passed through the California Senate. The bill had broad bipartisan support and passed by a vote of 32 ayes to 1 nay. It now heads for the Assembly. Following the passage of the bill, Teri Olle, Director of Economic Security California issued the following statement:
The passage of SB 1047 through the Senate brings us one big step closer to a future where the biggest developments in tech are incentivized to serve the public, not just the interests and profits of a few powerful tech companies. With this bill, California’s legislators are moving toward sector-wide preventative safety measures for AI. And today, amid heavy pushback from the tech industry, public demand for common-sense regulation prevailed.
Beyond regulating the largest models, SB 1047 will create CalCompute, a state-of-the-art, high-powered computing infrastructure that can provide access to AI systems for researchers, academics, and startups who do not have hundreds of millions to invest. It opens the door to truly embrace innovation and competition.
This bill positions California at the forefront of addressing one of today’s most pressing issues: how to mitigate the potential harms of AI and harness its power to serve the public interest. Along with enacting regulations requiring companies to test AI the largest, most powerful models before releasing them, this bill carves out a space for public benefit in the field of AI, and we are so proud to sponsor it.
For more information on SB 1047, view our previous press release here.