Maybe not the best idea.......

Gavin Newsom warns against perils of over-regulating AI

The Democratic governor of California is a longtime ally of the tech industry.

By JEREMY B. WHITE

Gov. Gavin Newsom warned on Wednesday against stifling the burgeoning artificial intelligence sector, sending a signal to Democratic lawmakers who are advancing dozens of AI bills in the state Legislature.

“I don’t want to cede this space to other states or other countries,” Newsom said during a daylong AI event in San Francisco. “If we over-regulate, if we overindulge, if we chase the shiny object, we could put ourselves in a perilous position.”

The Democratic governor of California and former San Francisco mayor has long been solicitous of its homegrown technology industry, calling it a critical source of tax revenue and a key to the state’s competitive edge. The position has put him at odds with legislative Democrats and union allies who have increasingly sought to rein in major tech players like autonomous vehicle companies.

California is poised to become a national standard-setter on artificial intelligence as the Legislature considers ambitious bills to ban biased algorithms, curb election disinformation, require large models to be vetted for threats like biohazards and protect actors’ digital likenesses.

Newsom has avoided taking a public position on those bills, deflecting a question on Wednesday about a fiercely contested safety testing measure.

But he is likely to play a critical gatekeeping role as bills move closer to his desk ahead of a September 30 deadline. He said he was weighing innovation against warnings about the negative fallout from out-of-control AI. Industry luminaries like OpenAI founder Sam Altman and leading academics like Stuart Russell have pushed for a cautious approach.

“When you have the inventors of this technology, the godmothers and fathers, saying: ‘Help, you need to regulate us,’ that’s a different environment,” Newsom said.

Newsom also suggested he’s open to laws curbing deceptive campaign videos and images, relaying a conversation with someone concerned that AI would undermine open elections.

“I’ve got personal reasons to believe that’s legit — the voice, videos, these AI bots, the persuasion campaigns,” Newsom said.

A photo illustration shows a teenage girl sitting at a school desk with arms folded, staring into her phone. A facial recognition pattern appears in the background.

The governor issued an executive order last year directing state agencies to study using AI for functions like managing traffic and offering tax advice. Newsom touted that work earlier this month as a sign that generative AI is “not a job killer” but a tool to help the government save money and work more efficiently.

Earlier in the day, Newsom’s deputy chief of staff Jason Elliott said California needs to work with prominent tech companies to maintain the state’s dominance while ensuring AI’s benefits are evenly distributed and not just reserved for the wealthiest.

“We are in first place, California, in terms of being the center of GenAI technology,” Elliott said. “We will not be in first place forever unless we defend that position and part of that means working with companies that are headquartered here.”