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Presented by Uber: Inside the Golden State political arena
Sep 17, 2024 View in browser
 
POLITICO California Playbook

By Lara Korte and Dustin Gardiner

Presented by 

Uber

Mark Ruffalo arrives at the Oscars on Sunday, March 10, 2024, at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles. (Photo by Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP)

Mark Ruffalo arrives at the Oscars on Sunday, March 10, 2024, at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles. (Photo by Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP) | AP

THE BUZZ: THAT’S SHOWBIZ, BABY — Hollywood has officially entered the AI chat.

After winning a major battle against studios’ use of artificial intelligence last year, Tinseltown actors are now wading into one of the nation’s most high-profile fights over the future of AI, with a growing number endorsing state Sen. Scott Wiener’s bill that would require large-scale AI models to undergo safety testing before deployment and currently sits on the governor’s desk.

The legislation is seemingly unrelated to the digital replica concerns that were at the center of last year’s five-month strike. But in the last week it has earned the endorsement of the mighty actors' union SAG-AFTRA and garnered the attention of celebrities like Mark Ruffalo, Sean Astin and Rosie Perez, who view the legislation as a critical safeguard against a powerful technology and are urging Gov. Gavin Newsom to sign it.

“AI is about to explode in a way [where] we have no idea what the consequences are,” the Hulk actor said in a video posted to X over the weekend. “Gov. Newsom, please do the right thing, don’t bow to the billionaires — protect us.”

Artificial intelligence has become a political lightning rod in the last several months, especially for celebrities that have seen their voices and likenesses digitally replicated without their consent. AI deepfakes were among the reasons Taylor Swift said she endorsed Kamala Harris, the singer wrote on Instagram last week, pointing out Donald Trump’s use of a digitally-manufactured image of her.

Senate Bill 1047 is perhaps the most politically fraught bill on Newsom’s desk this year. Not only would it enact industry-changing policies and set the standard for AI policy nationally, it’s also opposed by some of the most powerful entities in Silicon Valley, like OpenAI and A16Z, as well as Democratic heavyweights like Rep. Nancy Pelosi. 

While the bill might not immediately affect Hollywood, the recent celebrity involvement suggests SB 1047 has come to represent the pro-regulation side of the broader fight over AI.

The governor has deflected questions about Wiener’s bill in recent months, but he has signaled support for regulating deepfakes. In July he slammed an altered video depicting an AI-generated version of Vice President Kamala Harris, saying that “manipulating a voice in an ‘ad’ like this one should be illegal,” and declaring he intended to sign a bill to do so.

That earned Newsom a schoolboy response from X owner and internet provocateur Elon Musk, who, incidentally, is now supporting Wiener’s bill. 

Newsom never specified which AI bill he intended to sign, but he has multiple proposals before him that would tackle the issue of unauthorized replication. One of them, from Democratic Assemblymember Ash Kalra and co-sponsored by the California Labor Federation, would set new rules on the use of digital replicas in performer contracts. Another by Assemblymember Rebecca Bauer-Kahan, sponsored by SAG-AFTRA, would allow the estates of deceased celebrities to sue if someone digitally replicates them without consent.

“Hollywood and the entertainment industry are an entry point for Californians to understand why this is important,” Kalra told Playbook in an interview. “These are folks that they can relate to. They know who they are and they recognize why it's important.”

Then there’s the matter of elections. We’re tracking a pair of bills that go after campaign deepfakes: one from Assemblymember Gail Pellerin would prohibit circulating deceptive campaign material, and a complementary bill by from Assemblymembers Marc Berman and Pellerin would require large online platforms like X to remove deceptive, digitally-created content related to elections during certain periods before and after an election.

We’re also keeping our ears to the ground for chatter about California legislation during two high-profile AI events today.

In Washington, our POLITICO colleagues are hosting an AI & Tech summit, featuring exclusive conversations with senior tech leaders, officials and lawmakers. POLITICO’s Steven Overly will interview California’s own GOP Rep. Jay Obernolte, co-chair of the Bipartisan Task Force on AI and one of the few AI experts in Congress.

And downtown San Francisco is once again host to Dreamforce, the multi-day tech conference hosted by Salesforce founder Marc Benioff. Mayor London Breed on Monday touted the event, which is estimated to generate nearly $93 million in total economic impact, calling San Francisco the “AI hub of the world.”

GOOD MORNING. Happy Tuesday. Thanks for waking up with Playbook.

You can text us at ‪916-562-0685‬‪ — save it as “CA Playbook” in your contacts. Or drop us a line at lkorte@politico.com and dgardiner@politico.com, or on X — @DustinGardiner and @Lara_Korte.

WHERE’S GAVIN? Nothing official announced.

 

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CAMPAIGN YEAR

Dave Min speaks into a collection of microphones before a body of water wearing a gray jacket.

California state Sen. Dave Min speaks to reporters in Huntington Beach, California, on Wednesday, Oct. 6, 2021. | Eugene Garcia/AP

FIRST IN PLAYBOOK: SWING SEAT — Labor and environmental advocates are dropping big bucks on Asian and Latino voter outreach to help Democratic state Sen. Dave Min in the open race for Democratic Rep. Katie Porter’s congressional district.

The campaign, For Our Freedom, is spearheaded by SEIU California, SEIU International, EDF Action Votes, LCV Victory Fund and NRDC Action Votes. The coalition is spending nearly $2 million on a multi-language digital TV, mail, and phone campaign specifically to reach Asian and Latino voters, who make up a large block of the voter base in the purple district.

The groups are focused on painting Republican opponent Scott Baugh as a “MAGA Republican” — trying to tie him to recent incidents of anti-Asian hate, while boosting Min as a champion for the working class.

“One in four CD 47 voters are Asian American, and API voters are eager for information on how candidates stand on issues that matter to our community,” said Allen Chen, campaign spokesperson.

The campaign launches this week with a series of ads, including one that will run in Chinese and another that will run in Spanish. 

 

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CLIMATE AND ENERGY

ON THE TARMAC: California regulators walked back their proposal last month to become the first state in the U.S. to regulate carbon emissions from jet fuel used on commercial flights. As union airport workers call for them to put it back in, can they thread the needle between reducing emissions and the looming threat of lawsuits? Read more in last night's California Climate.

Top Talkers

NOT PLAYING AROUND — California Democratic Rep. Ro Khanna penned a Washington Post Op-Ed Monday declaring Congress should “swiftly allocate” more resources to the U.S. Secret Service to ensure the agency can provide former President Donald Trump with full protection. “It is unacceptable that an armed individual could reach such close proximity to a former president and the Republican Party nominee,” Khanna wrote.

PLAYING WITH FIRE — Tech mogul and online provocateur Elon Musk is in hot water for a now-deleted X post in which he questioned why “no one is even trying to assassinate” President Joe Biden or Vice President Kamala Harris. Musk in a later post said his comments were a misunderstood joke, writing: “Turns out that jokes are WAY less funny if people don’t know the context.”

We’re still waiting to see if the U.S. Secret Service agrees. The agency declined to respond to Musk’s comment but told WIRED Monday it “investigates all threats related to our protectees.”

TAKE THAT, GREG ABBOTT — San Francisco has relocated dozens of homeless people to states across the country since Aug. 1, including Texas and Florida, the San Francisco Standard reports. City officials expect the program to ramp up as staff continue to implement Mayor London Breed’s directive to offer homeless people bus tickets before shelter.

‘FUNCTIONALLY PRO-CHOICE’ — California GOP Rep. John Duarte told CNN’s Manu Raju last week he’s “pro-choice” — after saying in April the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade “doesn’t matter.” Duarte argued he’s in line with former President Donald Trump, whom he called “functionally pro-choice.”

 

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AROUND THE STATE

— Amazon is calling its staff back to the office five days a week. (The Washington Post)

— Why a Democratic candidate for the California Assembly is campaigning in Nevada. (San Francisco Chronicle)

— Thousands of California inmates have the right to vote. But exercising that vote is difficult, given most jails lack in-person voting sites. (CalMatters)

— Berkeley is one step closer to getting a 26-story student housing tower. (Berkeleyside)

PLAYBOOKERS

BELATED B-DAY WISHES — (was Monday): Meta’s Jackie Rooney and Josh Ginsberg

WANT A SHOUT-OUT FEATURED? — Send us a birthday, career move or another special occasion to include in POLITICO’s California Playbook. You can now submit a shout-out using this Google form.

CALIFORNIA POLICY IS ALWAYS CHANGING: Know your next move. From Sacramento to Silicon Valley, POLITICO California Pro provides policy professionals with the in-depth reporting and tools they need to get ahead of policy trends and political developments shaping the Golden State. To learn more about the exclusive insight and analysis this subscriber-only service offers, click here.

Want to make an impact? POLITICO California has a variety of solutions available for partners looking to reach and activate the most influential people in the Golden State. Have a petition you want signed? A cause you’re promoting? Seeking to increase brand awareness amongst this key audience? Share your message with our influential readers to foster engagement and drive action. Contact Rebecca Haase to find out how: rhaase@politico.com.

 

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Lara Korte @lara_korte

 

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