Schiavo’s AI workforce protection bill passes Assembly - Santa Clarita Valley Signal

Ah, California. The Golden State has passed AB 2545, Assemblywoman Pilar Schiavo's bill that requires the state to assess AI's impact on job displacement. Because nothing says 'bold action' like commissioning a report. The bill glided through the Assembly, presumably on a wave of self-satisfaction that the problem has been 'addressed.' Never mind that AI labs are shipping models that can write code, create art, and soon enough, probably draft their own environmental impact assessments.

Schiavo's bill is the legislative equivalent of a doctor diagnosing a patient with a terminal illness and then writing a pamphlet about how the illness might feel. It demands a study—a lovely, thorough, bureaucratic study—that will no doubt conclude that yes, AI will displace jobs. And then what? Another study? A task force? A committee to form a sub-committee? The bill's passage is a triumph of process over outcome, a masterpiece of regulatory theatre designed to make voters feel like something is being done while the tech industry continues to vaporize livelihoods with abandon.

But fear not—California's getting an impact assessment. The displaced workers can rest easy knowing their suffering is being meticulously documented. Perhaps the report will include a nice pie chart, so at least the data visualization will be aesthetically pleasing.