OpenAI threw its support behind a California bill requiring tech companies to label AI-generated content, according to a letter from OpenAI’s chief strategy officer viewed by Reuters. The bill is headed for a final vote in August.
AB 3211 requires watermarks in the metadata of AI-generated photos, videos, and audio clips. Lots of AI companies already do this, but most people don’t read metadata. AB 3211 also requires large online platforms, like Instagram or X, to label AI-generated content in a way average viewers can understand.
A trade group representing OpenAI’s largest investor, Microsoft, and other software makers, opposed AB 3211 in April, calling the bill “unworkable” and “overly burdensome” in a letter to California lawmakers.
The endorsement comes a week after OpenAI opposed SB 1047, another California AI bill that’s more widely criticized. However, OpenAI supports several federal bills that would regulate AI companies.