Long-Shot California Proposal Aims to Protect Workers From AI
▼ Summary
– Tom Steyer, a California gubernatorial candidate, proposes a job guarantee with benefits for workers displaced by AI, the first statewide candidate to do so.
– The plan includes a “token tax” on big tech companies for data processed by AI, funding a sovereign wealth fund for jobs in housing, healthcare, and energy infrastructure.
– It also expands unemployment insurance and creates an AI Worker Protection Administration with union leaders, academics, and technologists to protect workers’ rights.
– Steyer’s proposal follows similar ideas from AI executives Dario Amodei and OpenAI, and contrasts with rival Xavier Becerra’s AI plan, which lacks a specific funding mechanism.
– The White House has threatened to withhold federal broadband funding from states with “onerous” AI laws, while Steyer argues California must regulate AI to prevent economic inequality.
Billionaire California gubernatorial candidate Tom Steyer is unveiling a bold new proposal that would guarantee jobs with benefits for workers displaced by artificial intelligence, making him the first statewide candidate to commit to such a measure. The plan, which expands on an AI policy framework he introduced in March, aims to position California as “the first major economy in the world” to provide stable, well-paying employment to those affected by AI-driven job losses. Steyer tells WIRED he intends to build on a prior idea for a token tax that would charge major tech companies “a fraction of a cent for every unit of data processed” for AI. Revenue from this tax would flow into what Steyer calls the Golden State Sovereign Wealth Fund, with a portion dedicated to creating jobs in housing construction, health care, and modernizing California’s energy grid.
“The aim of the initiative will be to strengthen the foundation of the state’s economy, invest in our communities, and create beautiful, vibrant public spaces,” states a campaign memo reviewed by WIRED. “To support these efforts, Tom will also invest heavily in training and apprenticeship programs across the state.” The proposal also seeks to expand unemployment insurance and establish a new AI Worker Protection Administration, a body comprising union leaders, academics, and technologists tasked with adopting rules to safeguard workers’ rights, according to the memo.
“People all over this state are terrified that AI is going to hollow out this whole economy and they’re going to lose their jobs. Young people are worried they’ll never get a job,” Steyer tells WIRED. “We believe this can be an amazing transformational technology in many ways, but we’re not in the business of leaving people in California behind.”
Steyer’s job guarantee emerges amid a scramble by lawmakers at both state and federal levels,and even some AI executives,to address the consequences of widespread AI adoption across the U. S. workforce. In New Jersey, state senator Troy Singleton recently introduced a bill requiring companies that replace workers with AI to contribute to a fund for retraining those employees. In Congress, several proposals offer grants and tax credits for companies that provide AI training to existing staff.
Dario Amodei, CEO of Anthropic, has previously floated the concept of a token tax similar to what Steyer is proposing. “Obviously, that’s not in my economic interest,” Amodei told Axios last year. “But I think that would be a reasonable solution to the problem.” In April, OpenAI put forward a comparable public wealth fund idea.
Steyer’s announcement comes just days after Democratic primary opponent Xavier Becerra,former Health and Human Services secretary under President Joe Biden,released his own AI plan. Becerra calls for “workforce investment and transition support” but does not specify a funding mechanism. “Displacement without support is abandonment,” Becerra said in a Monday memo outlining his plan. “I will work with the Legislature, the California public education system and industry partners to build accessible, stackable workforce programs that prepare Californians for the AI economy and support workers navigating role changes.”
Over the past few months, the White House has threatened to target states that choose to regulate AI. In December, President Donald Trump signed an executive order that could revoke federal broadband funding from states that approve “onerous” AI laws. This dynamic is playing out in local races as well: In New York, a super PAC backed by Silicon Valley heavyweights, including OpenAI cofounder Greg Brockman, has targeted Alex Bores, a Manhattan congressional candidate who has made AI regulation the centerpiece of his campaign.
“Not regulating AI doesn’t seem remotely reasonable,” Steyer says. “But if California wants to lead, we’ve got to have a vision for the future that includes something that is not just about letting entrepreneurs get rich at the expense of everybody else.”
(Source: Wired)
