Browsing: California

The nation’s most populous state passed “Adam’s Law” to regulate chatbot harm. Credit: Sean Rayford / Stringer / News

As Californians prepare to celebrate Labor Day and the contributions of American workers, labor unions are raising alarms about what they see as a growing threat to the future of human work: artificial intelligence.

Adding plug-in solar power to your home’s energy mix is about to become legal in California: lawmakers in the state have now passed a bill approving the use of plug-in (or balcony) panels, so it’s now ready to be signed into law by Governor Gavin Newsom.

A sensor-laden semi-truck the size of a small building rolls alongside traffic on I-5 near Stockton. No one is steering — yet a trained human operator sits ready by law, watching the AI manage every lane change. That’s the reality California just authorized.

California’s Digital Age Assurance Act (AB 1043), signed by Governor Newsom in October 2025, required any “operating system provider” to collect user age at account setup and transmit age laws signals to app developers by January 1, 2027. AB 1856, passed unanimously in late August 2026, rewrote who qualifies as a provider — and open-

California lawmakers could pass a first-in-the-nation ban on social media accounts for children under 16 and add $1 million fines on the tech industry.

The AI leader said that the state’s SB 53 framework should “be amended to expand safeguards.”

Weeks after the state’s AI Transparency Law took effect, researchers looked into which companies generating images and audio met the mark. Aug 17, 2026 Updated 3:37 pm PT Technology leaders attend a generative artificial intelligence meeting in San Francisco on June 29, 2023. Artificial intelligence detection tools are increasingly used to identify generative content online. (Carlos…