Recently, David Sacks, the new AI advisor to Trump, accused AI company Anthropic of implementing a "complex regulatory capture strategy based on intimidation" on the social media platform X, claiming that the company is the main driver behind the wave of state-level regulations, harming the startup ecosystem. This controversy mainly revolves around Anthropic's position on U.S. AI legislation.
Jack Clark, co-founder of Anthropic, responded by saying that Sacks' accusations were "confusing," noting that the company aligns with the government on many issues, although there are slight differences in some areas. He believed that Anthropic's views are expressed in an "substantial, fact-based way," and found the reactions of other companies "very strange."
The core of the controversy lies in Anthropic's support for California's SB53 bill, a significant law aimed at setting transparency requirements and whistleblower protections for AI developers. The bill was signed by the California governor at the end of September and will take effect in 2026. Notably, Anthropic is the only major AI company that publicly supports this bill, while OpenAI stated it could "accept" the law after it passed.
Clark explained that Anthropic supported SB53 because federal legislators had made no progress at the national level. He pointed out that unified federal standards would be ideal, but the federal government's progress on large policy packages was not satisfactory. To this end, Anthropic has proposed its own transparency framework as a potential model for federal legislation. Clark believes that simple rules and low barriers for startups would benefit the entire ecosystem.
Clark also said that the development of cutting-edge AI requires more openness. He compared it to labeling AI products, similar to how other industries such as food, pharmaceuticals, and airplanes have corresponding labels. He hopes to establish a reasonable innovation environment to avoid a "reactive, restrictive regulation" scenario like that of the nuclear industry.
Key points:
🌟 David Sacks accuses Anthropic of using regulatory measures to influence the development of startups.
📜 The California SB53 bill supported by Anthropic aims to increase transparency and accountability in AI development.
🔍 Jack Clark believes that regulatory progress at the federal level is slow and a reasonable transparency framework needs to be established.
