California publishes report on public input for AI policy from Engaged California

What participants said

The report draws on input gathered through Engaged California, which the state describes as the nation's first digital democracy effort. According to the Governor's office, three themes came up most often and received the strongest support:

• Hold AI companies accountable for the harm they cause
• Protect people and the environment from the resource needs of AI
• Set rules for where and how AI can be used safely

The announcement says Californians want to be involved in AI policy not only in how people use AI, but also in how companies build it and how government regulates it. A full list of recommendations is in the final report.

Participants offered a range of views. One called for government transparency around the building and implementation of data centers. Another cautioned against overregulation of industry, suggesting that releasing an AI model to the public might require it to pass bias testing. A third wanted AI companies to "open up their black box" and produce more peer-reviewed studies about their claims, pointing to research on the harms of social media for people under 18.

How Engaged California works

According to the announcement, Engaged California began as a pilot tied to the state's response to the LA firestorms. That pilot sought input from thousands of local voices, and affected residents helped identify and prioritize recovery needs, leading to 19 recommendations for government action.

Governor Newsom officially launched the first statewide use of the tool in May 2026, open to every resident. The state says the platform lets Californians share their thoughts and connect with others on topics that matter to them, through what it calls honest, respectful discussions. Jeffery Marino, Director of the Office of Data and Innovation, called it a "first-in-the-nation deliberative democracy platform" that puts people's voices at the center of government.

The wider AI policy record

The Governor's office says the recommendations will help guide policy decisions and add to what it calls the state's strongest-in-the-nation AI policy framework. The announcement also criticizes the federal government for not doing enough to protect people from AI disruptions. It lists actions taken since a 2023 executive order on generative AI:

• Frontier AI safety: SB 53, signed in 2025, requires frontier AI developers to publicly disclose safety frameworks, report specified critical safety incidents to the state, and protect whistleblowers.
• Independent oversight: SB 813, signed in 2026, creates a framework for certifying independent verification organizations to assess AI systems for safety and risk. AB 1405 establishes a state registry for AI auditors.
• Child safety: Adam's Law requires safeguards around companion chatbots used by children, including crisis protocols and parental controls, and independent child-safety audits before release.
• Workers: An executive order addresses AI's economic and labor impacts, and the state has launched an AI Unemployment Tracker.
• Privacy: The Delete Act lets Californians direct registered data brokers to delete their personal information, and the state launched DROP for single deletion requests.
• Cybersecurity: An AI Cyber Defense Program uses AI to identify vulnerabilities, harden networks and support incident response.

The announcement also cites laws on deepfakes, AI watermarking, election content and AI training data transparency, as well as restrictions on addictive social media features for users under 16.

What it means

The report gives the state a documented set of public priorities as it continues to make AI policy. The source does not say which recommendations will become law or regulation, or on what timeline. For residents, the announcement presents Engaged California as an ongoing channel for weighing in on AI decisions, and the final report contains the full list of recommendations.