Petition to California State Legislature and Governor

We, the undersigned, call on the California State Legislature and Governor to reject Senate Bill 1047 (SB 1047), which threatens to stifle AI innovation and poses a significant risk to the open-source community.

Why is this important?

SB 1047, while purporting to ensure the safety of AI models, introduces complex and ambiguous reporting requirements that could paralyze many AI development teams, especially those working on open-source projects. The bill:

1. Regulates AI technology instead of AI applications, failing to make AI meaningfully safer.
2. Creates a huge gray zone where developers can't be sure how to avoid breaking the law.
3. Imposes significant penalties for violations, including potential perjury charges.
4. Establishes an unelected Frontier Model Division (FMD) with broad powers to dictate standards and levy fees.

The bill's flaws include:

• Vague requirements for certifying compliance under penalty of perjury.
• Unrealistic expectations for developers to predict and prevent all potential harms.
• Creation of regulatory uncertainty that could be exploited by vested interests.
• Disproportionate impact on open-source contributors who lack resources for compliance.

What we're asking:

1. Reject SB 1047 in its current form.
2. Focus on regulating specific AI applications rather than broad technological categories.
3. Protect open-source innovation in AI development.
4. Pursue more targeted measures to improve AI safety, such as:
   • Outlawing nonconsensual deepfake pornography
   • Standardizing watermarking and fingerprinting for generated content
   • Investing in red teaming and other safety research

By signing this petition, you're supporting:

• The preservation of open-source AI development
• Innovation in the AI field
• A more balanced and effective approach to AI regulataion

Don't let ambiguous legislation stifle the progress of AI technology and threaten the open-source community. Sign now to protect innovation and ensure a future where AI development remains accessible to all.


Disclaimer: This petition is based on Andrew Ng's views as expressed in his article: https://www.deeplearning.ai/the-batch/issue-257/