OpenAI’s decision to oppose California’s bill to prevent AI disasters, SB 1047, has disappointed two former OpenAI researchers who resigned this year due to safety concerns
However, they are not astonished. Daniel Kokotajlo and William Saunders have previously cautioned that OpenAI is engaged in a “reckless” pursuit of dominance.
In a letter that was shared with Politico, they write, “Sam Altman, our former boss, has repeatedly called for AI regulation.” The letter urges California Governor Gavin Newsom to sign the bill. “He is now opposed to actual regulation when it is on the table.”
The two conclude, “We remain optimistic that OpenAI will fulfill its mission statement of safely developing AGI with the implementation of suitable regulation.”
Anthropic an OpenAI competitor, has expressed its endorsement of the measure, but it has also raised specific concerns and requested amendments. Several have since been incorporated, and on Thursday, CEO Dario Amodei wrote to Newsom, stating that the current law’s “benefits likely outweigh its costs,” although he did not fully endorse the bill.
