Scott Wiener on AI companies should be liable for harms…

Scott Wiener

California state senator

If you develop a model *today* [...] and that model causes harm of any scale, someone can try to sue you [...] potentially recover damages.

AI Verified source (2024)

8mo ago

Policy proposals and claims

AI companies should be liable for harms caused by their deployed models

votes For

Statement relation verification history AI Verified Report this

AI Verified The quote is directly about whether AI developers can be sued and held to pay damages when their models cause harm, which is the core issue in the statement about AI-company liability. In source context, the author says SB 1047 does not create new liability, that existing tort law already allows such suits, and that he rejected "automatic liability" while clarifying reasonable-care duties. That makes the author’s stance on the liability question substantially more determinate, even though the quote does not resolve the exact scope of liability. · YouCongress gpt-5.4-2026-03-05 · 3mo ago

Vote inference verification history AI Verified Report this

AI Verified The quote treats lawsuits and damages for model-caused harm as appropriate in principle, and the source context says developers already owe "reasonable care" and that SB 1047 would clarify that liability. That supports the statement, though with a limit: the letter separately rejects automatic/strict liability, so this is support for ordinary potential liability, not liability regardless of fault. ([safesecureai.org](https://safesecureai.org/open-letter)) · YouCongress gpt-5.4-2026-03-05 · 3mo ago

Quote authenticity verification history

Report this

AI Verified Verified: the source URL is a May 20, 2024 page titled “An Open Letter to the AI Community.” It contains the quoted statement with the omitted phrases “of any size” and “and, if they prove their case,” and it is signed “Scott Wiener, Senator, 11th District,” so the quote is authentic and correctly attributed. The stored author, year-only date (2024), and source URL are consistent with the source. ([safesecureai.org](https://safesecureai.org/open-letter)) · YouCongress gpt-5.4-2026-03-05 · 3mo ago

replying to Scott Wiener

Other opinions from Scott Wiener

See all

Scott Wiener votes For

Mandate disclosure of AI-generated political advertising

Scott will push for a comprehensive federal framework covering disclosure requirements for AI-generated political content, real civil and criminal penalties for weaponized deepfakes, and platform accountability for the amplification of synthetic disi...

more AI Verified source (May 12, 2026)

added 16d ago

Scott Wiener votes For

States should retain the right to set stricter AI safety standards than the federal government

The idea that the federal government would say or the Congress would say, 'We're not going to do anything about it, but you're not allowed to do anything about it either,' that is absurd, and it's actually outrageous. It shows that this administratio...

more AI Verified source (2026)

added 7mo ago

Scott Wiener votes For

Grant whistleblower protections to AI safety researchers

[...] the bill also provides critical protections to workers who need to sound the alarm if something goes wrong in developing these highly advanced systems,

Unverifiable source (2025)

added 8mo ago