Poll: Californians Support Strong Version of SB1047, Disagree With Anthropic’s Proposed Changes
Amid pushback from major AI companies, a strong majority of California voters support the bill as is and believe that the bill should not be less aggressive
As major tech companies like Anthropic lobby against the passage of California’s Senate Bill 1047, which requires companies to conduct safety testing for advanced AI and creates liability for catastrophic harm, 65% of Californians support the bill as currently written, a new poll by the Artificial Intelligence Policy Institute (AIPI) finds. Only 25% of California voters oppose the legislation. This decisive majority includes 72% of Democrats, 62% of independents, and 57% of Republicans, the survey shows.
The poll tested certain aspects of SB1047 that are being targeted by policymakers and opponents of the bill—primarily citing Anthropic’s proposed amendments—and found that California voters support keeping each of the existing provisions after hearing the support and opposition arguments:
- Just 23% of voters think SB 1047 should be moderated and made less strict and agree with the argument that SB1047 goes too far and may have a chilling effect on innovation in the AI industry. 55% of voters say SB 1047 should not be moderated and is good policy as is, agreeing that AI is an increasingly powerful technology, and we need to take a safety first approach.
- Only 17% of voters agree with Anthropic’s proposed framework that the bill should only hold companies liable after catastrophic harm occurs. 69% of California voters believe that the bill should enforce safety standards before any potential harm occurs.
- 69%, believe whistleblower protections should be broad, covering any concerns about safety and covering contractors, as opposed to the 17% who believe whistleblower protections should be narrow, only covering direct employees and violations of the Safety and Security policy.
- 56% of California voters believe that the Frontier Model Division should remain in the bill and just 16% of voters think it should be removed.
- 51% of voters believe AI companies should not be able to redact information from their mandatory public Safety and Security protocols, while 25% of voters believe that such redactions should be allowed.
When provided with arguments for and against the bill, 70% of California voters—including 78% Democrats, 60% of independents, and 64% Republicans—agree most with arguments from supporters that future powerful AI models may be used for dangerous purposes such as cyber-attacks and to aid in developing biological weapons. Just 16% agree with the opponent’s argument that this policy will harm AI innovation in California and that supporters are fear-mongering.
Voters overwhelmingly supported all elements of the bill. Specifically, over 80% of voters support provisions that require safety measures for advanced AI (83%), mandate cybersecurity protections (83%), require that models have emergency shutdown capabilities (82%), and establish liability for catastrophic harms potentially caused by AI (80%).
“The poll demonstrates that Californians support the current version of SB1047 and they oppose Anthropic’s attempts to water it down. Voters reject proposed changes from AI companies and some policymakers—including ending the Frontier Model Division, removing pre-harm liability, and narrowing whistleblower protections,” said Daniel Colson, Executive Director of the Artificial Intelligence Policy Institute. “Voters from across the political spectrum support the rigorous components of the bill that prevent AI from creating catastrophic harms. As the debate over this bill persists, policymakers must take note of this undeniable public mandate for the version of this bill that tech companies haven’t gotten their hands on.”
About the Poll
The poll surveyed 1,000 California voters online from August 04 to August 05. The survey was conducted in English, and its margin of error is ±4.9 percentage points.
See full toplines and crosstabs here.
About the Artificial Intelligence Policy Institute
The Artificial Intelligence Policy Institute is an AI policy and research think tank founded by Daniel Colson to advocate for ethical oversight of AI for mitigating potential catastrophic risks posed by AI. AIPI’s core mission is to demonstrate that the general public has valid concerns about the future of AI and is looking for regulation and guidance from their elected representatives. If politicians want to represent the American people effectively, they must act aggressively to regulate AI’s next phases of development. AIPI seeks to work with the media and policymakers to inform them of the risks of artificial intelligence and develop policies that mitigate risks from emerging technology while still benefiting from artificial intelligence.
While much of the public discussion has been oriented around AI’s potential to take away jobs, AIPI will be focused on centering the importance of policies designed to prevent catastrophic outcomes and mitigate the risk of extinction. Currently, most of the AI space comprises those with a vested interest in advancing AI or are academics. The AI space lacks an organization to both gauge and shape public opinion on the issues—as well as to recommend legislation on the matter— and AIPI will fill that role.
Ultimately, policymakers are political actors, so the country needs an institution that can speak the language of public opinion sentiment. AIPI’s mission is about being able to channel how Americans feel about artificial intelligence and pressure lawmakers to take action.
AIPI will build relationships with lawmakers by using polling to establish AIPI as a subject matter expert on AI safety and policy issues. Politicians are incentivized to support AI slowdown policies due to the strong majority of voters supporting slowdown and regulation. But AI is currently less salient as a political issue than other topics, as so far, there have only been moderate impacts from emerging AI tech.
AI technological advancement is and will continue to be an evolving situation, and politicians, the media, and everyday Americans need real-time information to make sense of it all. AIPI’s polling will show where people stand on new developments and provide crucial policy recommendations for policymakers.