OpenAI backs California Bill aimed at unmasking AI-generated content

Aug. 26, 2024, 6:16 p.m.

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OpenAI, the developer of ChatGPT, is backing a California bill that would mandate tech companies to label AI-generated content. This content can range from harmless memes to deepfakes designed to spread misinformation about political candidates.

The bill, known as AB 3211, has received less attention than another California state AI bill, SB 1047. This other bill requires AI developers to conduct safety testing on certain AI models they create.

That legislation has faced opposition from the technology industry, including OpenAI, which has Microsoft as a financial supporter.

Advertisement California state legislators proposed 65 bills addressing AI during this legislative session, according to the state’s legislative database. These proposals included measures to ensure all algorithmic decisions are demonstrably unbiased and safeguard the intellectual property of deceased individuals from exploitation by AI companies. Many of these bills have already failed to advance.

OpenAI, based in San Francisco, believes that transparency and provenance requirements, such as watermarking, are crucial for AI-generated content, especially during an election year. This sentiment was expressed in a letter sent to California State Assembly member Buffy Wicks, who introduced the bill.

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.

“New technology and standards can help people understand the origin of content they find online, and avoid confusion between human-generated and photorealistic AI-generated content,” OpenAI Chief Strategy Officer Jason Kwon wrote in the letter, which was reviewed by Reuters.

AB 3211 has already received unanimous support from the state Assembly, passing with a 62-0 vote. Earlier this month, it cleared the senate appropriations committee, advancing it to a vote by the full state Senate. If the bill passes before the legislative session ends on August 31, it will then go to Governor Gavin Newsom for his signature or veto by September 30.