The POLITICO|Morning Consult poll found that about half of registered voters were somewhat or very concerned about their jobs being replaced by artificial intelligence in the next five years, while the other half were not.

Next year will be a critical time for lawmakers to consider where to make space for positive innovation and where to place checks on AI, said Assemblymember Rebecca Bauer-Kahan (D-Orinda), the newly-installed chair of the Committee on Privacy and Consumer Protection.

“Californians are clearly demanding a balanced approach to regulating artificial intelligence,” Bauer-Kahan said in a statement. “We should learn from our mistakes failing to regulate social media and be proactive. Californians should not be forced to sacrifice their privacy or their safety when they access any tool, no matter how useful.”

The long list of proposals the Legislature will consider next year includes union-backed bills to limit the fallout for workers at risk of losing their jobs to the quickly evolving technology. Gov. Gavin Newsom this year
vetoed a bill that would have required a human safety driver
in self-driving trucks, despite support from the powerful Teamsters union, and labor interests are already banding together to make sure their agenda isn’t thwarted by the tech lobby next year.

California’s Silicon Valley has been the epicenter of the AI boom, with products like ChatGPT quickly changing the technology landscape and prompting both state and federal officials to take notice.

President Joe Biden has made incremental progress on regulation, passing a blueprint of guidelines in 2022 and signing
an executive order on artificial intelligence
this year. But in the absence of meaningful laws from Congress, any bills California passes are likely to set the tone for national standards.