As Trump rolls back protections, Governor Newsom signs first-of-its-kind executive order to strengthen AI protections and responsible use

The order also commits to expanding California’s use of GenAI to help deliver improved state services, including a new AI-directed tool to help Californians navigate available programs and benefits by life event, such as starting a business or finding a job. The executive order can be viewed here.

California is the fourth-largest economy in the world, the birthplace of tech, and the top pipeline for tech talent, and has demonstrated its ability to responsibly advance innovation and safeguards — helping everyone from the nation’s largest valued tech companies to pre-seed startups to thrive.

California’s tech leadership

The announcement follows the Trump administration’s recent contracting missteps and attempts to require companies to violate their users’ privacy and civil rights and to deploy technologies that would put individuals’ safety at risk. Meanwhile, California is taking a different approach. 

Governor Newsom’s order will direct the Government Operations Agency to develop a plan for new state contracting processes and best practices that vet companies based in part on how they attest and explain their policies and safeguards to protect the public from the following with regard to their technology:

• Exploitation or distribution of illegal content
• Models that display bias or lack technology to prevent such bias
• Violations of civil rights and free speech

The order will also enable the state to separate its procurement authorization process from the federal government’s if needed and direct the state to leverage AI to improve government service delivery, increase transparency, and strengthen accountability.

The Governor also directs the California Department of Technology to create recommendations and best practices for watermarking AI-generated images or manipulated video consistent with state law — the first of its kind nationwide.

Read the full executive order here.

AI’s impact on our workforce

With opportunities created by AI come questions about job security and the potential for the technology to have a disruptive impact on the California workforce.  Californians deserve the opportunity to weigh in on how state policy responds to this emerging technology and shapes the future economy. Last year, Governor Newsom announced a first-in-the-nation digital democracy platform, Engaged California, a new tool to help the state build communication and engagement with Californians. The tool was first launched as a pilot to allow Angelenos to better shape recovery after the LA firestorms. The tool was then used to provide state employees with the opportunity to inform efficiency efforts in state government.

Governor Newsom is announcing today that the state is launching the first statewide engagement effort with all Californians through Engaged California, providing a stronger tool to help guide the state’s response to AI and its impact on the workforce. This new first-in-the-nation digital democracy effort will roll out in the upcoming months.

This effort is in contrast to the Trump administration and congressional Republicans, who have proven themselves incapable of passing even the most basic protections when it comes to AI. This also adds to Governor Newsom’s work putting California more out front on advancing AI than any other state:

California’s innovation economy dominates

• California is home to 33 of the top 50 privately held AI companies around the globe and leads with 25% of all AI patents, conference papers, and companies. 
• The Bay Area captured a majority of U.S. AI startup funding in the past year. From Q3 2024 to Q2 2025, the Bay Area attracted 51% of ALL U.S. AI startup funding on Carta’s platform — far ahead of the entire state of New York (11%) and Boston (5.5%).
• California leads U.S. demand for AI talent. In 2024, 15.7% of all U.S. AI job postings were in California — #1 by state, well ahead of Texas (8.8%) and New York (5.8%), per the 2025 Stanford AI Index.
• In 2024, more than half of global VC funding for AI and machine learning startups went to companies in the Bay Area.
• California is home to three of the four companies that have passed the $3 trillion valuation mark. Each of these California-based companies — Google, Apple, and Nvidia — are tech companies involved in AI and have created hundreds of thousands of jobs.

Birthplace of modern tech

California works closely to foster tech leadership and create an environment where industry and talent thrive. This is why California is home to the most tech companies in the nation. California is the global leader in technology and is balancing its work to advance AI with commonsense laws to protect the public, while also embracing the technology to make our lives easier and make government more efficient, effective, and transparent.

California currently has laws that help: