California has a question for you. What are your thoughts on AI? You have a way to tell California’s leaders in government how you feel, right now. Your responses will be used to help shape what the state does next.
This is not just another comment box that disappears into the void. This is a state program designed to give residents a greater role in government decisions.
Enter Engaged California: a first-in-the-nation deliberative democracy program managed by the Office of Data and Innovation (ODI). Our goal is to give Californians a unique opportunity to share their thoughts and connect with other people on topics that are important to them, from AI to government efficiencies and disaster recovery.
The latest topic invites every Californian to weigh in on AI’s impact on jobs and the economy. It’s open for participation right now.
How does it work?
- Visit join.engaged.ca.gov/ai-impact.
- Answer some questions about yourself.
- Share your experience about how you see AI impacting your work and the economy, and what you think government should do about it.
- You can also tell us if you want to be considered for live discussions with other Californians later this summer.
The impact of AI
This is a transformational moment in California. We’re living through an AI boom, and our state is at the heart of it. It’s home to 33 of the top 50 privately held AI companies.
Two recent executive orders from Governor Gavin Newsom are addressing the impacts of AI:
- One from March raised the bar for AI companies that want to do business with the state.
- The second, just issued on May 21, is designed to prepare the state for disruptions to the workforce caused by AI
What’s different about Engaged California is that it allows Californians to have a greater say. And as written in the latest executive order, the information we receive from this latest engagement could inform the state’s next steps:
“Departments and Agencies shall incorporate, to the extent practicable, the findings from Engaged California’s newly launched engagement around AI.”
This is an opportunity to share perspectives in a deeper way, alongside other Californians. As the first statewide engagement on Engaged California, this is an example of what makes this program truly exceptional: the ability to listen at scale. And our team turns those comments into data to identify points of common ground.
—Jeffery Marino, Director, ODI
The AI conversation is a milestone for the program. This is the third engagement since the program launched in February 2025.
How we got here
Governor Newsom first announced California’s goal to launch a statewide deliberative democracy effort with Engaged California in February 2025. Our pilot effort became part of the state’s response to the LA firestorms.
Impacted residents helped identify and prioritize recovery needs that led to an action plan for rebuilding.
- More than 3,000 affected residents were invited to participate.
- They left over 2,500 comments on the platform between March and August.
- They cast 3,977 votes across all policy options.
- They developed an action plan consisting of their 5 top needs to rebuild effectively.
The second engagement took place in July 2025 as part of the Governor’s executive order to advance an efficient, effective, and engaged state government. State employees were invited to share their ideas.
- More than 1,450 state employees participated.
- They provided over 2,500 ideas that were synthesized into 10 themes and 65 subthemes to improve government efficiency and service delivery across government.
With three engagements—on different topics with diverse audiences—now live, it proves that deliberative democracy works in California for strengthening civic engagement. Each time we open a topic, we build upon the model of broad input-gathering and action for all Californians.
—Jarrett Krumrei, Lead Product Manager, ODI
The next phase of Engaged California will be brand new: virtual, facilitated discussions with small groups of Californians. The people invited will come from participants of the first phase. And the topics of discussion will be directly informed by participant’s responses to the questions.
“The end goal is to cut through the noise that is polarizing,” said Director Marino. “People can react to one another and be open to other ideas. It truly is a modern town hall.”
It will be a lottery-based selection of those who expressed interest in participating.
A final report goes to state policy leaders in the fall.
If you want to be part of it, sign up to tell us your thoughts on the impact of AI on work.