The governor of California, Gavin Newsom, has blocked a landmark artificial intelligence (AI) safety bill, which had faced strong opposition from major technology companies. The proposed legislation would have imposed some of the first regulations on AI in the US.

The California bill would have required safety testing of large AI models before they could be released to the public, gave the state's attorney general the right to sue companies if their technologies caused serious harm and mandated a kill switch to turn off AI systems in case of major threats.

Amid the hullabaloo around California Gavin Newsom vetoing a closely watched artificial intelligence bill, three other bills that would regulate a different type of AI — autonomous vehicles — landed on his desk with less fanfare. The governor signed one and vetoed two others.