Key facts
- OpenAI believes states, especially California, will drive AI policy.
- Key policy areas include catastrophic risks, child safety, and data centers.
- Federal action on tech regulation has been slow, according to experts.
- California has a decade-long history of leading tech regulation.
- State legislators feel an urgency to address AI due to federal inaction.
OpenAI has indicated that significant policy decisions regarding artificial intelligence, particularly concerning catastrophic risks, child safety, and data centers, will continue to be made at the state level, with California expected to lead these efforts. This perspective was shared during POLITICO's The California Agenda: Sacramento Summit.
Bruce Reed, Head of AI for the nonprofit Common Sense and a former Biden White House official, noted that California has been at the forefront of tech regulation for over a decade. He argued that federal legislation has lagged significantly behind the rapid pace of technological change, stating, “You can’t pass a law once every 30 years to deal with a technology that changes once every 30 days.” Reed suggested that states like California are therefore crucial for driving AI policy.