California lawmakers are making significant strides in regulating artificial intelligence (AI) technologies, with a series of proposals aimed at addressing discrimination, misinformation, privacy concerns and prohibiting deepfakes in the contexts of elections and pornography, advancing in the legislature last week. 

These proposals must now gain approval from the other legislative chamber before being presented to Governor Gavin Newsom. Experts and lawmakers warn that the United States is falling behind Europe in the race to regulate AI. The rapid development of AI technologies poses significant risks, including potential job losses, the spread of misinformation, privacy violations, and biases in automated systems. 

Governor Newsom has championed California as a frontrunner in both the adoption and regulation of AI. He has outlined plans for the state to deploy generative AI tools to reduce highway congestion, enhance road safety, and provide tax guidance. Concurrently, his administration is exploring new regulations to prevent AI discrimination in hiring practices. Speaking at an AI summit in San Francisco on Wednesday, Newsom revealed that California is considering at least three additional AI tools, including one designed to address homelessness. 

Tatiana Rice, deputy director of the Future of Privacy Forum, a nonprofit organization that advises lawmakers on technology and privacy issues, said that California's strong privacy laws position it more favorably than other states with significant AI interests, such as New York, for enacting effective regulations. Rice further emphasized that California is well-equipped to lead in the development of impactful AI governance. 

Some companies, including hospitals, are using AI for hiring, housing, and medical decisions with little oversight. The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission reports that up to 83% of employers use AI in hiring, but the workings of these algorithms are mostly unknown. California is proposing an ambitious measure to regulate these AI models. 

This measure would require companies to disclose their use of AI in decision-making and inform those affected. AI developers would need to regularly check their models for bias. The state attorney general would have the power to investigate discriminatory AI models and issue fines of $10,000 per violation. 

Additionally, a bipartisan coalition aims to prosecute those using AI to create child sexual abuse images, as current laws do not cover AI-generated images that are not of real people. Additionally, Democratic lawmakers are supporting a bill to combat election deepfakes. This bill was prompted by AI-generated robocalls mimicking President Joe Biden before New Hampshire’s presidential primary. 

The proposal would ban deceptive election-related deepfakes in mailers, robocalls, and TV ads 120 days before and 60 days after Election Day. Another proposal would require social media platforms to label any election-related posts created by AI. 

California's proactive stance may pave the way for broader federal regulations to address these emerging challenges.