On September 6, 2023, Governor Gavin Newsom issued
Executive Order N-12-23 to study the development, use, and
risks of artificial intelligence (AI) technology throughout the
state. As Governor Newsom’s
press release notes, California is a global hub for
generative artificial intelligence (GenAI), and as an emerging
field of technology, GenAI may revolutionize the world. As well
reported, this technology may present transformative benefits for
society in a number of fields ranging from advances in medicine,
wildfire forecasting and prevention, revolutionizing the
transportation sector, providing operational efficiencies across
various sectors of the economy, and providing better metrics to
make data-informed policy decisions, just to name a few benefits.
With these benefits, come risks, as referenced in the Governor’s
Executive Order, including terrorism, cyberattacks,
disinformation, deception, and discrimination and bias.
The Governor’s Executive Order includes a number of provisions,
including the development a risk-analysis report; procurement
blueprint; beneficial uses of GenAI report; deployment and
analysis framework; state employee training; GenAI partnership
and symposium; a legislative engagement strategy, and evaluative
measures to assess the impacts of AI on an ongoing basis.
Counties will closely monitor the development and progress of the
report expected to be developed by the Government Operations
Agency, the California Department of Technology, the Office of
Data and Innovation, and the Governor’s Office of Business and
Economic Development which is expected to examine the beneficial
uses of GenAI tool deployment and the potential risks to
individuals, communities, and governments.
As the largest political subdivision of the state, counties
provide a variety of critical local government services and are
ready to engage as a key stakeholder in ensuring the responsible
use of AI. If your county is interested in discussing AI, please
reach out to CSAC’s Government Finance and Administration staff
Kalyn Dean and
Jessica Sankus.
