California’s new AI safety law shows regulation and innovation don’t have to clash 

SB 53, the AI safety and transparency bill that California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed into instrumentality this week, is impervious that authorities regulation doesn’t have to hinder AI progress.  

So says Adam Billen, vice president of nationalist argumentation astatine youth-led advocacy radical Encode AI, on today’s occurrence of Equity. 

“The world is that argumentation makers themselves cognize that we person to bash something, and they cognize from moving connected a cardinal different issues that determination is simply a mode to walk authorities that genuinely does support innovation — which I bash attraction about — while making definite that these products are safe,” Billen told TechCrunch. 

At its core, SB 53 is a first-in-the-nation bill that requires ample AI labs to beryllium transparent astir their information and information protocols – specifically astir however they forestall their models from catastrophic risks, similar being utilized to commit cyber attacks on captious infrastructure oregon build bio-weapons. The instrumentality besides mandates that companies instrumentality to those protocols, which volition beryllium enforced by the Office of Emergency Services.  

“Companies are already doing the worldly that we inquire them to bash successful this bill,” Billen told TechCrunch. “They bash information investigating connected their models. They merchandise exemplary cards. Are they starting to skimp successful immoderate areas at some companies? Yes. And that’s wherefore bills similar this are important.” 

Billen besides noted that some AI firms person a argumentation astir relaxing information standards nether competitory pressure. OpenAI, for example, has publicly stated that it may “adjust” its information requirements if a rival AI laboratory releases a high-risk strategy without akin safeguards. Billen argues that argumentation tin enforce companies’ existing information promises, preventing them from cutting corners nether competitory oregon fiscal pressure. 

While nationalist absorption to SB 53 was muted in comparison to its predecessor SB 1047, which Newsom vetoed past year, the rhetoric successful Silicon Valley and among astir AI labs has been that astir any AI regulation is anathema to advancement and will ultimately hinder the U.S. successful its contention to bushed China.  

It’s wherefore companies similar Meta, VCs similar Andreessen Horowitz, and almighty individuals similar OpenAI president Greg Brockman are collectively pumping hundreds of millions into ace PACs to backmost pro-AI politicians successful authorities elections. And it’s why those aforesaid forces earlier this twelvemonth pushed for an AI moratorium that would person banned states from regulating AI for 10 years.  

Encode AI ran a conjugation of much than 200 organizations to enactment to strike down the proposal, but Billen says the fight isn’t over. Senator Ted Cruz, who championed the moratorium, is attempting a caller strategy to execute the aforesaid extremity of national preemption of authorities laws. In September, Cruz introduced the SANDBOX Act, which would let AI companies to use for waivers to temporarily bypass definite national regulations for up to 10 years. Billen also anticipates a forthcoming measure establishing a national AI standard that would beryllium pitched arsenic a middle-ground solution but would successful reality override authorities laws. 

He warned that narrowly scoped federal AI authorities could “delete federalism for the astir important exertion of our time.” 

“If you told maine SB 53 was the measure that would regenerate each the authorities bills connected everything related to AI and each of the imaginable risks, I would archer you that’s astir apt not a precise bully thought and that this measure is designed for a peculiar subset of things,” Billen said.  

Adam Billet, vice president of nationalist policy, Encode AIImage Credits:Encode AI

While helium agrees that the AI contention with China matters, and that policymakers request to enact regularisation that volition enactment American progress, helium says sidesplitting authorities bills – which mainly absorption connected deepfakes, transparency, algorithmic discrimination, children’s safety, and governmental usage of AI — isn’t the mode to spell astir doing that. 

“Are bills similar SB 53 the happening that volition halt america from beating China? No,” helium said. “I deliberation it is conscionable genuinely intellectually dishonest to accidental that that is the happening that volition halt america successful the race.” 

He added: “If the happening you attraction astir is beating China successful the contention connected AI — and I bash attraction astir that – past the things you would propulsion for are worldly similar export controls successful Congress,” Billen said. “You would marque definite that American companies person the chips. But that’s not what the manufacture is pushing for.” 

Legislative proposals similar the Chip Security Act aim to forestall the diversion of precocious AI chips to China done export controls and tracking devices, and the existing CHIPS and Science Act seeks to boost home spot production. However, immoderate large tech companies, including OpenAI and Nvidia, person expressed reluctance or opposition to definite aspects of these efforts, citing concerns about effectiveness, competitiveness, and information vulnerabilities.  

Nvidia has its reasons – it has a beardown fiscal inducement to proceed selling chips to China, which has historically represented a important portion of its planetary revenue. Billen speculated that OpenAI could clasp backmost connected spot export advocacy to enactment successful the bully graces of important suppliers similar Nvidia. 

There’s also been inconsistent messaging from the Trump administration. Three months expanding an export ban on precocious AI chips to China in April 2025, the medication reversed course, allowing Nvidia and AMD to merchantability immoderate chips to China in exchange for 15% of the revenue. 

“You spot radical connected the Hill moving towards bills similar the Chip Security Act that would enactment export controls connected China,” Billen said. “In the meantime, there’s going to proceed to beryllium this propping up of the communicative to termination authorities bills that are actually quite light tough.” 

Bilen added that SB 53 is an illustration of ideology successful enactment – of manufacture and policymakers moving unneurotic to get to a mentation of a measure that everyone tin hold on. It’s “very disfigured and messy,” but “that process of democracy and federalism is the full instauration of our state and our economical system, and I anticipation that we volition support doing that successfully.” 

“I deliberation SB 53 is 1 of the champion impervious points that that tin inactive work,” helium said.