CEOs of the companies racing to build smarter AI—Google DeepMind, OpenAI, xAI, and Anthropic—have been clear about the stakes. Each has, at times, warned that powerful AI could spell disaster for humanity. And yet, in an industry shrouded in trade secrets and nondisclosure agreements, would-be whistleblowers have faced a difficult choice: stay silent, or come forward and face the potential legal consequences.

A landmark California law aims to make that choice easier. The Transparency in Frontier Artificial Intelligence Act (SB 53), signed by Governor Gavin Newsom on Sept. 29, offers the legal shield that insiders have long demanded, protecting those who blow the whistle from retaliatory action from their employers.

The law applies to any company operating in California that uses massive

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