California Plans AI Safety Reports, Transparency Mandates

California State Senator Scott Wiener has revived legislative efforts to regulate artificial intelligence through Senate Bill 53, which mandates that the largest AI companies disclose detailed safety protocols and report significant safety incidents to state authorities. This bill is a revised and scaled-back version of last year's SB 1047, which was vetoed by Governor Gavin Newsom due to concerns over legal liability and industry pushback. SB 53 emphasizes transparency and safety reporting without imposing direct liability, aiming to balance public accountability with fostering innovation in California's AI sector. The legislation includes whistleblower protections to encourage internal reporting of safety issues and proposes the creation of a public cloud computing resource to support startups and researchers. These efforts come amid growing public and governmental concerns about the risks of advanced AI models and follow failed attempts at the federal level to preempt state AI regulations. California’s initiative could set a national precedent given its significant role in the technology industry, with major AI developers like OpenAI, Google, and Anthropic likely affected.