Contentious California AI bill passes legislature, awaits governor’s signature [Video]

California lawmakers passed a hotly contested artificial-intelligence safety bill on Wednesday, after which it will need one more process vote before its fate is in the hands of Governor Gavin Newsom, who has until Sept. 30 to decide whether to sign it into law or veto it.

Tech companies developing generative AI – which can respond to prompts with fully formed text, images or audio as well as run repetitive tasks with minimal intervention – have largely balked at the legislation, called SB 1047, saying it could drive AI companies from the state and hinder innovation.

Some Democrats in U.S. Congress, including Representative Nancy Pelosi, also opposed it. Proponents include Tesla CEO Elon Musk, who also runs an AI firm called xAI and has said he supports the bill.

The measure mandates safety testing for many of the most advanced AI models that cost more than $100 million to develop or those that require a …