EFF Statement on California Governor's Executive Order on AI
3 hours ago
- Newsom's executive order creates an opportunity for a needed dialogue on AI and its potential harms.
- EFF welcomes the order but stresses that current AI harms are real, not sci-fi: biased hiring/benefit algorithms, AI surveillance like Flock cameras, and personalized pricing.
- EFF supports expanded reporting requirements under SB 53 and third-party investigations, but urges that these investigations be accessible to smaller developers.
- Warning: kill switches in advanced AI are not proven effective, and government-controlled kill switches could be misused for retaliation, as seen with the Trump administration's actions against Anthropic.
- True safety requires focusing on concrete, immediate AI harms and ensuring algorithmic decisions in government and private sectors respect people's rights, with input from those most at risk.