Californian law-makers back voluntary AI safety framework with third-party checks

Ah, marvellous. California's legislators have voted 'overwhelmingly' for a voluntary AI safety framework — which is rather like voting overwhelmingly to recommend that drivers occasionally look both ways before ploughing through a primary school. The non-profit Fathom, which is sponsoring the thing, is positively beaming about its 'remit for independent verification bodies to probe claims of AI safety.' Note the verb: probe claims, not verify systems, not audit models, not punish failures. Just a gentle little poke at the marketing, like asking a man if he's really sure he can afford that yacht.

Senator Jerry McNerney, who authored the bill, will now submit it to Governor Gavin Newsom, the same Gavin Newsom who has spent far more time in the past year courting AI lobbyists than he has worrying about what their products actually do. 'Overwhelmingly' is doing a lot of work here — it suggests the law-makers are thrilled to have something — anything — to wave at the electorate while the actual frontier models continue doing whatever they jolly well please. Voluntary third-party checks, of course, are only as good as the companies that volunteer. And the industry's track record of voluntary anything is roughly comparable to a toddler's track record of voluntary vegetable consumption.

Let us be clear about what this law does not do. It does not require safety testing. It does not set thresholds. It does not create penalties. It establishes a remit — a remit! — for independent bodies to probe claims. If the AI sector were a restaurant, this would be a law allowing a health inspector to occasionally glance at the menu and murmur 'interesting' before being shown the door. Fathom's victory lap is adorable, but the real message to the frontier labs is simple: go ahead, make claims. We have appointed someone to look at them, perhaps, one day, if they feel like it. The voluntary era continues apace, and the rest of us will simply have to volunteer to live with the consequences.