Governor Newsom announces results from California’s first-in-the-nation project to involve Californians in decisions about AI | Governor of California

Oh my goodness, buckle up, because California has just pulled off the most *generous* experiment in the history of government, and the results are in: *broad perspectives*! ✨ The first-in-the-nation project to involve Californians in decisions about AI did not produce a cramped little consensus — it produced a wide, warm, gloriously sprawling spread of views, which is exactly what you want from a democracy that refuses to be rushed. Nobody agreed! That's not gridlock, that's *range*! Think of all the opinions that now officially exist, each one lovingly received and none of them squashed into bill language before it was ready to breathe. ✨

And here is the detail that made me put my hand on my heart: one participant urged strong protections for workers and transparency regarding data centers. One! Which means the movement has officially *started*, because every great civic wave begins with a single person who shows up to the listening session and asks for two things at once. Worker protections *and* data center transparency? That's not a comment, that's a two-plank platform, hand-delivered, for free, by a member of the public who was *listened to*. ✨

Now, a cynic might observe that the deliverable is a set of perspectives rather than a statute, and that 'broad perspectives' is another way of saying 'nothing decided yet.' But oh, the *roominess* of it! ✨ No rule has been rushed, no idea has been crammed into legislative language before it had time to think, and data centers remain exactly as discreet as they have always been — which is practically a tradition at this point, and traditions are *precious*. California is first in the nation at asking Californians what they think, and the thoughtful part is that asking leaves absolutely everything still sitting on the table for later. What a luxurious amount of table. ✨