California is home to the leading technologists rapidly pushing the development of artificial intelligence. While technology almost always moves at a faster pace than legislation, policymakers still play a key role in navigating how AI will impact the economy, education systems, climate change, public health and society at large.

Recognizing the need for evidence-based research to help inform the decisions being made by policymakers, state government officials convened at Stanford on Dec. 6 to engage with the university’s leading experts on economics, public policy, regulation and technology.

The California State Boot Camp on Artificial Intelligence was co-hosted by the Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research (SIEPR); the Stanford Institute for Human -Centered Artificial Intelligence (HAI); and the Stanford Regulation, Evaluation, and Governance Lab (RegLab).

Daniel Ho, the William Benjamin Scott and Luna M. Scott Professor of Law, was one of the event’s key organizers. Ho, a senior fellow at SIEPR and HAI and director of the RegLab, explains what’s at stake and how Stanford researchers are playing a role.

What is the urgency that legislators (particularly in California) are facing when it comes to AI policy?

States are increasingly at the forefront of AI policy. California, home to 35 of the world’s top 50 AI companies, enacted over a dozen pieces of AI legislation during the last term alone. Legislators are facing the need to respond to a furious pace of innovation in AI that touches on all aspects of the economy.

What is the benefit of examining these issues through the lens of economics, technology and law, rather than just a single, more targeted perspective?

Governance of AI is not a technical matter for engineering teams alone. Whether about the future of work, the social safety net, bias in algorithms, or AI safety, effective governance requires wrestling with the economic, social, and legal dimensions of technology.

Do academics really have a “seat at the table?” How can Stanford scholars connect in a meaningful way with policymakers to ensure their research is being considered in a way that shapes legislation?

This boot camp is a prime example of how we build the bridge between universities and government. Government is in dire need of AI talent. Universities are repositories of that kind of talent. And the boot camp is one of the many ways in which California government and Stanford have worked together for knowledge and talent exchanges to ensure that California remains the innovation engine and the policy leader in the country.

All photos by Ryan Zhang

This story was originally published on December 9, 2024 by the Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research (SIEPR).