California Defies Trump, Institutes Its Own Rules on AI
California is moving to tighten oversight of AI firms that want to secure state contracts, setting up a direct clash with calls from President Donald Trump to keep the fast-growing sector largely unregulated. Governor Gavin Newsom recently signed an executive order that gives state officials four months to draft new rules focused on protecting the public from potential harms linked to AI systems. Firms must demonstrate safeguards to prevent their technology from generating or spreading illegal content, including child exploitation material and explicit violent imagery. They are also required to explain how their systems are designed to limit bias and avoid outcomes that could lead to unlawful profiling, surveillance, or discriminatory treatment. The…