Legislature Approves McNerney’s Landmark Bill to Assess Artificial Intelligence Safety Risks
The California Legislature tonight approved Sen. Jerry McNerney’s SB 813, landmark legislation that would establish a first-in-the-nation framework for independent, third-party assessments of potential safety risks posed by artificial intelligence systems.
“The California Legislature today sent a clear message: It’s time for California to take the lead in assessing AI’s potential safety risks, since Washington, D.C., is unable or unwilling to do so,” said Sen. McNerney, D-Pleasanton, who authored the landmark AI in Government Act while serving in Congress. “AI has the potential to improve our lives, but without sufficient guardrails, it also poses significant risks. SB 813 will ensure the creation of independent, third-party assessments of AI to ensure the technology is safe and beneficial.”
SB 813 won bipartisan approval in the Senate on a vote of 37-0, after the Assembly approved the bill on a bipartisan vote of 53-4. The bill now goes to the governor’s desk.
AI is advancing rapidly, but the technology also presents significant risks, including psychological harm to children, inherent bias, cyber security and fraud, election tampering, misinformation, deep fakes, and widespread job displacement.
Two-thirds of Americans have little or no confidence in the federal government to regulate AI effectively, while nearly 6 in 10 lack confidence in U.S. companies to develop and use AI responsibly.
Last year, one of the primary recommendations by Gov. Gavin Newsom’s blue-ribbon panel on artificial intelligence was to establish independent, third-party evaluations of AI.
SB 813 would implement a voluntary flexible framework under the direction of the Government Operations Agency to:
- Establish Independent Verification Organizations (IVOs) to provide independent assessments of AI systems and models;
- Create requirements for IVOs to ensure they have appropriate expertise, use credible methodologies, and remain independent from the entities they assess;
- Convene working groups to solicit stakeholder input in the identification of AI safety standards;
- Identifies effective approaches for evaluating AI systems.
Sen. Jerry McNerney is chair of the Senate Revenue and Taxation Committee, and his 5th Senate District includes all of San Joaquin County and Alameda County’s Tri-Valley.
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