California

At this week's NASCIO conference in Philadelphia, California's two top technology leaders outlined the state's approach to putting AI to work for the state's 39 million residents.

The State Bar has petitioned the court to adjust hundreds of test scores due to technical problems, and the court is demanding answers from the State Bar about how and why it used AI to develop exam questions.

The State Bar of California stirred some controversy when it disclosed that some questions on this year's exam were developed with the assistance of AI by ACS Ventures, the State Bar's independent psychometrician.

A bill that would add a black box warning to social media home screens moved forward in the California Legislature Tuesday, after emotional testimony from witnesses and Assembly members.

Markets around the world have been reactive to recent U.S. tariff announcements and rollbacks. State officials are concerned trade friction with other nations could lead to equipment shortages and contract turbulence.

In remarks Tuesday at the California CIO Academy in Sacramento, state CIO Liana Bailey-Crimmins highlighted the response to this year’s Los Angeles wildfires as an example of a human-centered response to a crisis.

Achieving a university education should be a challenging, interesting and humane experience. An education driven by AI to produce workers pre-fabricated for California's high-tech industry promises the opposite.

California will soon start using satellite technology to track down methane and other greenhouse gas emissions, such as oil and gas operations, landfills and livestock facilities.

Amy Tong, the former California Government Operations Agency secretary and state CIO, will, at the request of Gov. Gavin Newsom, now focus on “government efficiency, tech and innovation,” she said recently.

The San Fernando Valley city's new chief information officer was most recently IT director for the Southern California municipality. He has public- and private-sector experience in IT, management and technical roles.

The director of the state Department of Tax and Fee Administration is stepping in for Government Operations Agency Secretary Amy Tong. The former state CIO will continue to lead on efforts around innovation and efficiency.

Gov. Gavin Newsom has announced a new digital democracy initiative to connect residents with government officials in times of disaster and allow them to express their concerns.

Jon Gjestvang, who led IT for the Bay Area county through wildfires and the COVID-19 pandemic, will wrap his 23-year career as CIO at the end of February. The organization’s deputy CIO will take over as interim CIO.

Leaders at Adobe, NVIDIA and Intel share their aspirations and intentions for a recently announced partnership for AI education and workforce development through the California State University System.

Cal State’s deputy vice-chancellor of academic and student affairs, its chief information officer, and a San Francisco State University anthropology professor take different stances on a $16.9 million AI initiative.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers on Monday announced it will start with Phase 2 debris removal at private residential properties in the Eaton and Palisades wildfire impact zones this week.

The Eureka City Council tossed a contract to install 21 automated license plate reader cameras throughout the city at a Tuesday meeting, with a vote that came after public opposition to the tech.

In collaboration with Instructure, Alphabet, Nvidia, Intel, AWS, Microsoft, OpenAI and others, the California State University system is to roll out AI tools and training to all students, faculty and staff.