AI is a powerful technology that carries both benefits and risks. We wish to promote innovation to ensure its potential benefits are responsibly realized and widely shared, while simultaneously ensuring that current and potential societal risks are mitigated. To address the growing societal impact of AI, many jurisdictions are pursuing policymaking. The AI research and policy community lacks consensus on the evidence base relevant for effective policymaking, as has been seen with the debates over California’s Safe and Secure Innovation for Frontier Artificial Intelligence Models Act (California’s SB-1047). Points of contention include disagreement about what risks should be prioritized, if or when they will materialize, and who should be responsible for addressing these risks.