Gavin Newsom loved AI, then discovered he hated it – Latest News
Gavin Newsom has determined he’s skeptical of AI. It’s the precise reverse of the stance he took only one 12 months in the past.
In October 2025, Newsom vetoed a invoice that will require knowledge facilities to report their anticipated and previous water use when making use of for, and renewing their business licenses.
Newsom needed to spice up California as a middle of AI innovation and growth. So he didn’t wish to limit the industry.
Demonstrators take part within the “Stop the AI Race” protest march in San Francisco, California, Saturday, July 11, 2026. The protestors are making stops exterior the workplaces of OpenAI, Anthropic and Google DeepMind. AFP through Getty Images
Gavin Newsom, Governor of California, speaks alongside Carsten Schneider, proper, Federal Minister for the Environment, Climate Action, ZUMAPRESS.com
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As he put it in a assertion justifying his veto:
“The widespread adoption of artificial intelligence technologies is driving an unprecedented demand for data center capacity throughout the nation. As the global epicenter of the technology sector, California is well positioned to support the development of this critically important digital infrastructure in the state.”
“I am reluctant to impose rigid reporting requirements,” he added.
But now, Newsom is signing payments to control AI and knowledge facilities — together with a invoice that requires knowledge facilities to offer details about their water use.
In different phrases, a full flip-flop.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom speaks at a rally for Democratic candidates Saturday, Sept. 5, 2026, in Monroe, N.C. AP Photo/Nell Redmond
People maintain placards during an “emergency protest” by civic motion group PauseAI UK exterior Downing Street in central London, Wednesday, Sept. 16, 2026. The demonstration follows information that AI researcher Jacob Coxon determined to go away the industry, warning that AI labs had been “gambling with our lives.” AFP through Getty Images
Instead of boosting AI as a driver of California’s financial system, Newsom is telling the world that AI must be managed.
The governor says he’s “taking action” on AI to handle “the very real concerns that impact all of our futures.”
What modified, in much less than a 12 months?
Nothing — besides politics.
Democrats determined to undertake an anti-AI message heading into the midterms.
They are amplifying public nervousness in regards to the long-shot dangers of AI, and the water and power use of knowledge facilities.
But Newsom has a file he has to bury. And so he is determined to appear like he’s making an attempt to stop what he as soon as cheered.
California Governor Gavin Newsom meets Union County voters during a Labor Day weekend rally in Monroe, North Carolina, Saturday, Sept. 5, 2026. Anadolu through Getty Images
He is issuing govt orders to develop a “kill switch” and appointing a committee to come back up with new laws.
Last 12 months, he was “reluctant to impose rigid reporting requirements.”
This 12 months, he is boasting about “first-in-the-nation safeguards and accountability measures,” although different states moved first.
“Decisive action to strengthen AI oversight,” he calls it.
There is nothing “decisive” about Gavin Newsom.
He is a basic finger-in-the-wind politician, who follows the polls to determine what he believes that day.
The wants of the occasion come earlier than the wants of the state — and the wants of the politician come earlier than all.
Whatever your view on AI, you may be sure that Newsom has agreed with you, at one level or one other.
It’s the alternative of management.
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