There is a long-standing proposal to protect California workers from artificial intelligence

Billionaire California Governor Candidate Tom Steyer is putting forward a new proposal that would guarantee jobs with benefits for workers displaced by artificial intelligence. He is the first statewide candidate to make such a pledge.

The plan, which builds on a broader AI policy framework Steyer released in March, promises to make California “the first major economy in the world” to guarantee “good-paying” jobs for workers affected by AI. To do this, Steyer told WIRED he plans to build off an earlier proposal to introduce a “token tax” that would tax big tech companies “a fraction of a cent for each unit of data processed” for artificial intelligence. Funding from the tax would go into what Steyer called the Golden State’s sovereign wealth fund, with some of that money earmarked for housing construction jobs, health care, and upgrading California’s energy infrastructure.

“The goal 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 seen by WIRED. “To support these efforts, Tom will also invest heavily in training and apprenticeship programs across the state.”

The memo says the new plan also aims to expand unemployment insurance and create a new agency called the AI ​​Worker Protection Administration that will include union leaders, academics and technologists who will adopt rules to protect workers’ rights.

“People all over this state are terrified that AI is going to hollow out this entire economy and they’re going to lose their jobs,” Steyer tells WIRED. “And young people are worried they’ll never get a job.” “We believe this could be an amazing, transformative technology in so many ways, but we are not in the business of leaving the people of California behind.”

Steyer’s job guarantee comes as lawmakers across the state and federal levels — and even some AI executives — scramble to address the ramifications of widespread AI adoption across the U.S. workforce. And in New Jersey, state Senator Troy Singleton recently introduced a bill that would require companies that replace workers with artificial intelligence to contribute to a fund that would pay for the costs of retraining those workers. There are a few proposals in Congress for grants and tax credits for companies to provide AI training to current employees.

Dario Amodei, CEO of Anthropic, previously proposed the concept of the token tax that Steyer is now proposing. “This is clearly not in my economic interest,” Amodei told Axios last year. “But I think this would be a reasonable solution to the problem.” In April, OpenAI proposed creating a public wealth fund similar to what Steyer proposed.

Steyer’s announcement comes days after Democratic primary opponent Xavier Becerra — the former Secretary of Health and Human Services under President Joe Biden — presented his own plan for artificial intelligence. In this proposal, Becerra calls for “investing in the workforce and supporting transformation” but does not provide a specific financing mechanism.

“To be displaced without support is to be abandoned,” Becerra said in a memo Monday 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 in navigating role changes.”

Over the past few months, the White House has threatened to go after countries that choose to regulate artificial intelligence. In December, President Donald Trump signed an executive order that could strip federal funding for broadband from states that approve “onerous” AI laws. This is happening in local races, too: In New York, a super PAC, backed by a number of powerful forces in Silicon Valley, including OpenAI co-founder Greg Brockman, targeted Alex Burris, a Manhattan congressional candidate who has made AI regulation a centerpiece of his campaign.

“Not regulating AI doesn’t seem plausible at all,” Steyer says. “But if California wants to lead, we have to have a vision for the future that includes something that is not just about letting entrepreneurs get rich at the expense of everyone else.”