The newly announced undertaking consists of a group of technology policy experts, known as the California Innovation Council, which will be tasked with guiding the state through some of its AI integration and policy challenges.
“We’re not going to sit on the sidelines and let others define the future for us. But we’re going to do it responsibly — making sure we capture the benefits, mitigate the harms and continue to lead with the values that define this state,” the governor said in his announcement.
The new council is divided into working groups focused on four policy areas, including protecting child online safety and countering image-based abuse; countering technology fraud; modernizing government service delivery; and technology, economic development and workforce.
Participants in the council’s four working groups include:
Protecting Child Online Safety and Countering Image-Based Abuse: Led by the Office of the First Partner with support from the California Department of Technology (CDT) and the State Board of Education.
- Cailin Crockett, senior consultant, Global NCII Clearing Centre
- Adam Dodge, founder, EndTAB
- Katya Hancock, CEO, Young Futures
- Sunny Xun Liu, director of research, Stanford Social Media Lab
- Larissa May, founder and executive director, #HalfTheStory
- Candice Odgers, director of research and faculty development, School of Social Ecology, UC Irvine
- Sharon Olken, board member, State Board of Education
- Jenny Radesky, co-medical director, American Academy of Pediatrics, Center of Excellence of Social Media and Youth Mental Health
- Derek Slater, co-founder, Proteus Strategies
Modernizing Government Service Delivery: Led by the Government Operations Agency (GovOps), including the California Department of Technology and the Office of Data and Innovation (ODI).
- Jennifer Anastasoff, founder and executive director, Tech Talent Project
- Krista Canellakis, program director, U.S. Digital Response
- Genevieve Gaudet, director of design, Nava Labs
- Dan Ho, professor and director RegLab, Stanford University
- Tara McGuinness, founder and executive director, New Practice Lab, New America
- Deirdre Mulligan, professor of practice, School of Information, UC Berkeley
- Nabiha Syed, executive director, Mozilla Foundation
Technology, Economic Development and Workforce: Co-led by the Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development and the Labor and Workforce Development Agency.
- Laphonza Butler, former U.S. senator
- Ronak Daylami, vice president for advocacy, privacy, cybersecurity and emerging technologies, California Chamber of Commerce
- Molly Kinder, senior fellow, Brookings
- Julianne McCall, CEO, California Council on Science and Technology
- Katherine Newman, provost, UC Office of the President
- David Onek, CEO, Silicon Valley Social Venture Fund (SV2)
- Angie Wei, former legislative affairs secretary, Gov. Newsom
Countering Tech Fraud: Led by the Business, Consumer Services, and Housing Agency, including the Department of Financial Protection and Innovation.
- Kate Griffin, director, Inclusive Financial System, Financial Security Program, Aspen Institute
- Carole House, senior fellow, Atlantic Council
- Johnette Jauron, head of Cybercrime Section, California Department of Justice
- Ted Mermin, director, California Low-Income Consumer Coalition (CLICC)
- Leigh Phillips, president and CEO, SaverLife
- Kathy Stokes, director of fraud prevention, Fraud Watch Network, AARP
- Erin West, founder and president, Operation Shamrock
Newsom also announced the Emerging Technology Accelerator, which formalizes cooperation between “the state and Stanford Institute for Human-Centered AI, UC Berkeley, the Mozilla Foundation, the Tech Talent Project, U.S. Digital Response and Nava Labs.”
That work, and the resulting products, will be led on the state’s side by GovOps, CDT and ODI.
In addition to the new council and accelerator, the governor’s announcement highlighted the work done by CDT to launch Poppy, an AI tool for state workers built on 11 models. So far, 20 state departments are involved in the tools development and testing.
“We want to empower every state employee to be able to leverage AI to support their work. This tool is built around our statewide business processes, aligned with our values, and designed to make government work more efficiently,” State CIO and CDT Director Liana Bailey-Crimmins said in the announcement. “Poppy can accelerate GenAI adoption across California and enable our teams to focus on what matters most — delivering real results for the people we serve.”
California has been aggressive in not only implementing AI technology but also in establishing ground rules around its safe use. And while the industry has often criticized legislation in this space as overly prescriptive and a threat to future innovation, state leaders have pointed to a lack of policy at the federal level as proof positive that it is necessary.
Most recently, Trump signed an executive order that established an AI Litigation Task Force charged with identifying and challenging state laws that contradict a yet-to-be-developed “carefully crafted national framework.”
“My administration must act with the Congress to ensure that there is a minimally burdensome national standard — not 50 discordant state ones. The resulting framework must forbid state laws that conflict with the policy set forth in this order,” Trump said in the order. “That framework should also ensure that children are protected, censorship is prevented, copyrights are respected and communities are safeguarded. A carefully crafted national framework can ensure that the United States wins the AI race, as we must.”
