Gov. Newsom signed a first-in-the-nation executive order Thursday aimed at helping the state prepare for how artificial intelligence could reshape jobs, businesses and the economy.
The executive order does not create any new laws or immediate worker protections. Instead, it launches a process for California agencies to study how the state should respond as AI continues changing the workforce and job market.
The order directs several state agencies to explore policies such as severance standards, expanded workforce training and transition support for displaced workers. It also calls on labor experts, economists and industry leaders to develop policy recommendations, gather data and identify early warning signs of workforce disruption.
The move comes as major tech companies, including Meta, Block and Cisco, recently laid off thousands of workers while increasing investments in AI.
“AI clearly is scaring workers, and we need to acknowledge that people are worried that they’re not going to have a job, that they’re not going to be able to get a job,” said Lorena Gonzalez, president of the California Federation of Labor Unions.
Gonzalez said the executive order acknowledges a real concern, but argued it falls short of providing immediate protections for workers.
“We have to have human jobs as well, and we’re fighting for that. This EO does nothing towards that goal. It just says there will be problems, so let’s study how we can soften the blow on workers without a real strategy quite frankly,” Gonzalez said.
Still, Gonzalez pointed to one section of the order she supports: encouraging collective bargaining as a tool to help protect jobs.
“We said, ‘Absolutely.’ In fact, we have a whole database at the University of California, Berkeley Labor Center of every single contract we bargained on this issue, and it does show success. We know we’ve saved jobs,” she said.
The executive order also aims to help small businesses adapt to AI technology.
At San Diego creative agency Redideo Studio, founder and creative director Daniel Travers said AI has already become part of his workflow. He said he uses the technology to brainstorm ideas, create artwork and handle paperwork.
“Some of these things that I’ve been producing lately would have taken months, if not a year, to create, and I’ve created these in a few days,” he said.
Travers said he began using AI as a tool as it became more popular in the workplace.
“I think he’s [Newsom] kind of late to the game, to be honest with you. I mean, AI has been having an impact for at least the past year,” Travers said.
Even as AI tools become more common in creative fields, Travers said human professionals are still essential.
“I think it comes down to quality; you can tell when a design is created with AI, or a video might be edited with AI. It just kind of loses that human touch,” he said.
State agencies now have 180 days to come back with specific recommendations, including possible updates to California’s Worker Notification Law, which requires companies to give advance warning before mass layoffs. That deadline puts those proposals on the Governor’s desk sometime this fall.