Elon Musk voices support for California bill requiring safety tests on AI models

[August 27, 2024]  (Reuters) - Tesla chief Elon Musk, who also owns social media platform X, said on Monday he feels California should pass an AI bill that would require tech companies and AI developers to conduct safety testing on some of their own models.

Elon Musk attends the opening ceremony of the new Tesla Gigafactory for electric cars in Gruenheide, Germany, March 22, 2022. Patrick Pleul/Pool via REUTERS/File Photo

"For over 20 years, I have been an advocate for AI regulation, just as we regulate any product/technology that is a potential risk to the public," Musk said in a post on X, while calling on the state to pass the SB 1047 bill.

California state lawmakers attempted to introduce 65 bills touching on AI this legislative season, according to the state’s legislative database, including measures to ensure all algorithmic decisions are proven unbiased and protect the intellectual property of deceased individuals from exploitation by AI companies. Many of the bills are already dead.

Earlier in the day, Microsoft backed OpenAI voiced support for another AI bill from California, called AB 3211, that would require tech companies to label AI-generated content, which can range from harmless memes to deepfakes aimed at spreading misinformation about political candidates.

With countries representing a third of the world's population having polls this year, experts are concerned about the role AI-generated content will play, and it has already been prominent in some elections, such as in Indonesia.

(Reporting by Kanjyik Ghosh in Bengaluru; Editing by Stephen Coates)

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