California cements its role as the national testing ground for AI rules

To see where tech policy is going in the U.S., look west: California is escalating its push to regulate AI across multiple fronts. Why it matters: California's multi-pronged approach makes it likely that AI companies in the U.S. will treat the state's rules as a de facto national standard, even as the White House moves to rein in state regulation. It follows a familiar pattern: California acts first, companies adapt to keep doing business there and Congress dithers, eventually ceding its role to states due to gridlock. Driving the news: Gov. Gavin Newsom signed an AI executive order this week as state legislators advance a number of AI bills and consider other regulatory avenues for AI. The big picture: California is moving ahead as the Trump administration pushes for a national AI standar