The fight ahead in 2025
The policymakers behind SB 1047 have hinted they may come back in 2025 with a modified bill to address long-term AI risks. One of the sponsors behind the bill, Encode, says the national attention SB 1047 drew was a positive signal.
“The AI safety movement made very encouraging progress in 2024, despite the veto of SB 1047,” said Sunny Gandhi, Encode’s vice president of Political Affairs, in an email to TechCrunch. “We are optimistic that the public’s awareness of long-term AI risks is growing and there is increasing willingness among policymakers to tackle these complex challenges.”
Gandhi says Encode expects “significant efforts” in 2025 to regulate around AI-assisted catastrophic risk, though he did not disclose any specific one.