Elon Musk Calls for AI Regulation as California Debates Crucial Bills

Elon Musk urges California to pass an AI bill, advocating for safety testing on AI models. California lawmakers introduced 65 bills related to AI, focusing on algorithmic fairness and intellectual property protection. Microsoft-backed OpenAI supports another bill to label AI-generated content, addressing concerns about AI's role in misinformation during elections.

Tesla chief Elon Musk, who also owns social media platform X, said on Monday he feels California should pass an AI bill that would require tech companies and AI developers to conduct safety testing on some of their own models. 'For over 20 years, I have been an advocate for AI regulation, just as we regulate any product/technology that is a potential risk to the public,' Musk said in a post on X, while calling on the state to pass the SB 1047 bill.

California state lawmakers attempted to introduce 65 bills touching on AI this legislative season, according to the state's legislative database, including measures to ensure all algorithmic decisions are proven unbiased and protect the intellectual property of deceased individuals from exploitation by AI companies. Many of the bills are already dead. Earlier in the day, Microsoft-backed OpenAI voiced support for another AI bill from California, called AB 3211, that would require tech companies to label AI-generated content, which can range from harmless memes to deepfakes aimed at spreading misinformation about political candidates.

With countries representing a third of the world's population having polls this year, experts are concerned about the role AI-generated content will play, and it has already been prominent in some elections, such as in Indonesia.

(With inputs from agencies.)