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Gov. Gavin Newsom signed an executive order on Monday that directs California agencies to add guardrails for generative artificial intelligence in state contracting and in internal use, while also pushing agencies to expand access to the technology for government services.
The order, announced by Newsom’s office in a press release, comes as state agencies work on generative AI tools for employees and other uses, including testing and development across more than a dozen departments and agencies. It also reflects attention to how AI systems could be misused, including concerns about civil liberties and civil rights, according to the order’s requirements outlined by the governor’s office.
Newsom’s administration said the executive order was prompted in part by the way federal procurement decisions have affected AI providers. The Associated Press report said the executive order followed a dispute between Anthropic and the Department of Defense over contract terms that barred the military from using Anthropic systems for domestic mass surveillance and fully autonomous weaponry.
By designating Anthropic a “supply chain risk,” the Defense Department effectively barred the startup from competing for certain military contracts and subcontracts, the report said. It added that a judge issued a temporary injunction to block the designation, setting up the impetus for California to review any similar federal designation and determine whether the state would do business with the company.
Within that broader contracting directive, the executive order requires California agencies to develop recommendations for state contract standards relating to generative AI and its ability to generate child sexual abuse material, violate civil liberties and civil rights laws, or infringe on legal protections against “unlawful discrimination, detention, and surveillance,” according to the report. The order also directs agencies to help employees gain access to “vetted GenAI tools.”
The executive order further requires agencies to update the State Digital Strategy, expanding it to identify ways generative AI can “strengthen government transparency and accountability, improve performance, and make government services easily accessible for every Californian.” The administration also directed state agencies to develop generative AI for Californians to gain access to government services.
The governor’s office said the order includes guidance on how state employees should apply watermarks to AI-generated imagery and videos. The Associated Press report said the order was signed at a time when more than 20 California departments and agencies are working to develop or use Poppy, a generative AI assistant for state employees, and when several state agencies are testing AI for other purposes such as assisting homeless people and businesses.
Newsom’s office also tied the move to what it described as changes at the federal level. It said President Donald Trump and Republicans in Washington have rolled back protections or ignored ways AI can harm people, adding that California remains committed to ensuring AI solutions adopted and deployed by the state “cannot be misused by bad actors.”
The report said Trump has signed executive orders that, it said, discourage states from regulating AI and urged federal agencies to adopt AI to reduce federal regulation and accelerate decisions involving Medicare. It also said the White House introduced an AI policy framework last month that Congress is expected to consider and that the proposal takes a light-touch approach to regulation while not directly addressing bias, discrimination, or civil rights.
This is the second executive order on AI Newsom has signed. The report said a 2023 order focused exclusively on generative AI and called for increased use of such tools by state agencies while directing agencies to put guardrails in place. Newsom’s handling of AI issues is watched by both union leaders, who pledged in February not to support his presidential bid without more worker protections, and big tech donors, who are investing in influencing California politics ahead of midterm elections this fall.