Two former OpenAI researchers who resigned this year over safety concerns say they are disappointed but not surprised by the company's decision to oppose California's AI disaster prevention bill, SB 1047. Daniel Kokotajiro and William Sanders previously warned that OpenAI was engaged in a “reckless” fight for dominance.
“Our former boss, Sam Altman, has repeatedly called for AI regulation,” they wrote in a letter shared with Politico, urging California Governor Gavin Newsom to sign the bill. “Currently, when actual regulation comes up on the table, he opposes it.” The duo added, “We are hopeful that with appropriate regulation, OpenAI will be able to fulfill its mission statement of building AGI safely.”
OpenAI rival Anthropic voiced support for the bill while raising specific concerns and calling for amendments. Several amendments have since been adopted, and on Thursday CEO Dario Amodei wrote to Governor Newsom saying that while the current bill's “benefits likely outweigh the costs,” he did not support the bill in its entirety.