This is a tech crunch.

Sign or veto. What's next for California's AI Disaster Bill SB 1047.

This is a Daily Crunch special.

A controversial California bill to prevent AI disasters SB SB 1047, has passed final votes in the state Senate and now

proceeds to Governor Gavin Newsom's desk.

He must weigh the most extreme theoretical risks of AI systems, including their potential role in human deaths

against potentially thwarting California's AI boom. He has until September 30th to sign

SB 1047 into law or veto it all together.

Introduced by state senator Scott Wiener, SB 1047 aims to prevent the possibility of very

large AI models creating catastrophic events such as loss of life or cyber attacks costing

more than $500 million in damages.

Now to be clear, very few AI models exist today that are large enough to be covered by the bill

and AI has never been used for a cyber attack of this scale but the bill concerns

the future of AI models, not problems that exist today.

SB 1047 would make AI model developers liable for their harms, like making gun manufacturers

liable for mass shootings, and would grant California's

attorney general the power to sue AI companies for hefty penalties if their

technology was used in a catastrophic event. In the event that a company is

acting recklessly a court can order them to stop operations.

Covered models must also have a kill switch that lets them be shut down if they're deemed dangerous.

The bill could reshape America's AI industry,

and it's a signature away from becoming law.

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