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Friday, August 30th, 2024

The AI safety bill Big Tech hates has passed the California legislature

Author:     Kelsey Piper
Source:     Vox
Publication Date:     Aug 28, 2024 | 4:45 PM PDT
 Link: The AI safety bill Big Tech hates has passed the California legislature
Stephan:  

As you know from reading me I think AI is a very mixed bag. I can see how it could be helpful, I also see how it could, and has been, used in very negative ways spewing AI generated misinformation and fake porn to mention just two of the many damages AI is causing. California is the first state to really think the issue through by passing California’s SB 1047. The tech industry of course, which has profit as its only real priority, is furious and doing everything it can to sabotage such legislation. I think, we need national legislation, regulating this technology before it destroys our democracy and social wellbeing.

Yann LeCun, Meta’s chief AI Scientist, has warned that liability for mass casualties caused by AI will destroy the industry.
 Credit: Chesnot / Getty

If I build a car that is far more dangerous than other cars, don’t do any safety testing, release it, and it ultimately leads to people getting killed, I will probably be held liable and have to pay damages, if not criminal penalties.

If I build a search engine that (unlike Google) has as the first result for “how can I commit a mass murder” detailed instructions on how best to carry out a spree killing, and someone uses my search engine and follows the instructions, I likely won’t be held liable, thanks largely to Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act of 1996.

So here’s a question: Is an AI assistant more like a car, where we can expect manufacturers to do safety testing or be liable if they get people killed? Or is it more like a search engine?

This is one of the questions animating […]

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