In a bold move, the artificial intelligence (AI) giant OpenAI has reportedly endorsed California’s new bill, which requires AI companies to add a digital watermark for AI-generated content. According to a Reuters report, OpenAI Chief Strategy Officer Jason Kwon expressed his support for the AB 3211 bill, which mandates labeling metadata of images, videos, and audio clips.
What is AB 3211 Bill?
AB 3211, also known as the “California Digital Content Provenance Standards,” is a bill proposed by California to ensure transparency in the digital media sphere. Amidst increasing scams and threats, including “deepfakes,” the bill attempts to bring a key distinction between AI content and human-made content. The legislation mandates tech companies to embed watermarks in the metadata. The statement read,
The Legislature should require online platforms to label synthetic content produced by GenAI. Through these actions, the Legislature can help to ensure that Californians remain safe and informed.
AI Content vs. Human Content
OpenAI’s Strategy Officer Kwon believes that the new bill would significantly benefit distinguishing between AI content and human-made content. He added that amidst increasing misinformation about political leaders, the introduction of the AI watermark bill would help understand the origin of the content and “avoid confusion between human-generated and photorealistic AI-generated content.”
OpenAI Faces Major Upheaval as Key Executives Depart: ReportOpenAI Opposes California’s SB 1047 Bill
The AI platform’s support for the AB 3211 bill was followed by a solid objection to the landmark SB 1047 bill. The bill, endorsed by tech billionaire Elon Musk and Ethereum Founder Vitalik Buterin, intends to address the risks tied to Artificial Intelligence (AI). With the bill, AI developers spending over $100 million on an AI model will be responsible for any potential risk. The developers are required to test their AI models prior to their releases.
However, many AI companies, including OpenAI, expressed disagreement with the move, adding that the bill could restrict the growth of technology and innovation. Urging the authority to launch more convenient bills, OpenAI cautioned that the SB 1047 bill could force experts and engineers to migrate.
