He announced new agreements Tuesday between California and several tech companies to use generative artificial intelligence in state government work. The legislature鈥檚 research division called the timeline of the projects 鈥渁ggressive and premature.鈥�
Generative AI refers to technology that learns from existing data to create new data.
Newsom said at a press conference that the new generative AI projects 鈥� which the state has already been testing 鈥� will increase efficiency in the state鈥檚 work around traffic safety, congestion and customer service related to taxes. He said the move builds on an requiring some state departments to study how they could use AI to work more efficiently.
He also compared it to Elon Musk鈥檚 work scaling back the federal government through the Department of Government Efficiency, saying California is doing that work better.
鈥淏uilding things is hard 鈥� starting from scratch, improving things, reforming things,鈥� he said. That's what we're promoting: efficiency, engagement, better outcomes and results. That's real work.鈥�
The state is contracting with several companies, including Accenture and Deloitte, and aims to launch a final version of the projects in July.
California鈥檚 Legislative Analyst鈥檚 Office just before Newsom鈥檚 announcement saying the governor鈥檚 AI timeline is hasty.
鈥淭he state doesn't really have the full scope and cost of the entire project, which is something that we typically expect when the legislature is being asked to sign off on millions or tens of millions of dollars annually for a particular project,鈥� said LAO Policy Analyst Brian Metzker.
The report calls for the legislature to require Newsom to share more about the testing of the technology. It also recommends lawmakers restrict the number of initial projects.