Newsom Launches Digital Democracy Push for AI Policy Input
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — California Gov. Gavin Newsom is seeking public input on artificial intelligence policy through a new digital democracy initiative, State Affairs reported, as the state weighs its next steps on AI regulation.
The state serves as headquarters to leading AI companies including Google, Anthropic and OpenAI. The initiative would solicit direct public feedback on AI governance, expanding participation beyond the industry representatives and legislators who have been central to California’s AI policy debates, according to State Affairs.
The move comes as California remains among the most active U.S. states on AI regulation. Newsom drew national attention in 2024 when he vetoed SB 1047, an AI safety bill that would have imposed liability requirements on developers of large frontier models. The veto was seen as a win for the AI industry but drew criticism from safety advocates who argued the state was missing a critical window to establish guardrails.
Since then, the California legislature has continued to advance AI-related measures, with dozens of bills introduced in the current session covering topics ranging from deepfake regulation and algorithmic discrimination to AI transparency requirements and workforce impacts.
The digital democracy approach represents a departure from traditional notice-and-comment rulemaking, allowing a broader cross-section of Californians to weigh in on how the technology should be governed. The model has been used in other policy areas and its application to AI regulation is new at the state level.
California’s role in AI policy reflects both its position as the industry’s geographic center and its history of setting regulatory standards that other states and the federal government have followed. The state’s AI regulatory actions have drawn attention from federal policymakers, particularly as Congress has yet to pass comprehensive federal AI legislation.
The initiative also arrives amid a broader national debate over the appropriate level of government at which to regulate AI, with some industry groups pushing for federal preemption of state-level rules and consumer advocates arguing that state action is necessary in the absence of federal standards.
