As a fellow AI researcher, I have enormous respect for Dr. Fei-Fei Li's scientific contributions to our field. However, I disagree with her recently published stance on California's SB 1047. I believe this bill represents a crucial, light touch and measured first step in ensuring the safe development of frontier AI systems to protect the public.
Many experts in the field, including myself, agree that SB 1047 outlines a bare minimum for effective regulation of frontier AI models against foreseeable risks and that its compliance requirements are light and not prescriptive by intention. Instead, it relies on model developers to make self-assessments of risk and implement basic safety testing requirements. It also focuses on only the largest AI models—those costing over $100 million to train—which ensures it will not hamper innovation among startups or smaller companies. Its requirements align closely with voluntary commitments many leading AI companies have already made (notably with the White House and at the Seoul AI Summit).
