Sacramento Report: The Race Is on for March Primaries

Tuesday is the primary election, so make sure to get your ballot in. Voting is already underway through mail ballots and vote centers, some of which opened last week. Starting Saturday, all 200 vote centers in the county will be open through Election Day. You can vote in person or return your mail ballot there, or at official county drop boxes.

Here’s some key races I’m watching: 

The sole ballot measure, Proposition 1, could generate new bond money for mental health and addiction treatment facilities and housing. It would also take some funds – and control – away from counties. 

Six candidates are competing for San Diego’s 75th Assembly District, where two Republicans are battling for the top spot. Conservatives Andrew Hayes and Carl DeMaio are scrambling to paint each other as liberal. They sent a blizzard of mailers, some featuring photo-shopped images of their opponent alongside famous Democrats ranging from Gov. Gavin Newsom, to Squad members, Reps. Ilhan Omar and Alexandria Ocasio Cortez. DeMaio even funded ads for a Democratic opponent, to push Hayes out of the running.

There’s a bit of political hop-scotch in San Diego, as state Senate Speaker Pro Tem Toni Atkins terms out of her spot in the 39th District and runs for governor. Assemblymember Akilah Weber, D-La Mesa, is seeking Atkins’ seat after a term and a half in the 79th Assembly District, where three Democrats and one nonpartisan candidate want to fill in behind Weber.

The Other Race I’m Watching – Lawmakers Want to Get Ahead of AI

When you scan social media, buy property or apply for work, artificial intelligence may be powering the process. It can help you land a new job or dream home, but could also compromise your privacy and expose you to discrimination.

Because of the potential for innovation and abuse, California lawmakers are trying to get a handle on AI technology while it’s still fairly new. 

A few weeks ago I wrote about bills that would regulate government AI use, including two introduced by state Sen. Steve Padilla, D-San Diego. They would set standards for state contractors using AI technology, and create a “California AI Research Hub.”

Last week Padilla and other state senators asked industry experts how California can both encourage and oversee AI.

At a hearing of two state Senate subcommittees, Padilla said the technology “has incredible potential but it also has incredible risks” including disclosure of sensitive information, national security, personal privacy and intellectual property.

Sen. Bill Dodd, who also introduced a sweeping “AI Accountability Act,” compared the technology’s transformational potential to the printing press, industrial revolution and the internet age.

First, what is AI? We’ve all encountered chatbots and seen their malevolent science fiction counterparts, so what distinguishes this technology from other apps or algorithms? 

“AI systems include automation which approximates human capacity, and ability to learn from experience,” said Michael Karanicolas, executive director of the UCLA Institute for Technology, Law and Policy.

It’s that potential for change that makes AI so useful but also tricky. For instance, AI systems serve up posts or products you might like on Instagram or Amazon, based on your previous browsing history. ChatGPT learns to mimic human language by trawling the web for writing samples.

That malleability makes AI systems “fundamentally different from purchasing a stapler,” in that the product evolves as you use it, said Daniel Ho, a professor of law and computer science at Stanford University. That’s not necessarily a good thing.

“Currently AI is powered by hoovering up all data from the internet and learning from it, but garbage in, garbage out,” Ho said. 

Public agencies, however, can set parameters for their AI systems with “secure, privacy-protected access to much higher quality government data,” he said.

Those efforts can shape products used by private companies.

“As large purchasers, you can set standards for what safeguards AI providers should be required to take,” Ho said. 

Artificial intelligence can make public workers’ lives easier by  “processing paperwork, digitizing claims requests and automating rote work, such as reviewing applications: the very things that slow service delivery and lead to civil servant burnout,” said Addie Cook, global AI public policy lead for Google Cloud.

On the other hand, “intense monitoring can push warehouse workers to the point of injury,  biased hiring algorithms can shut women and workers of color out of opportunity, and gig platform workers can end up making below the minimum wage,” said Annette Bernhardt, director of the Technology and Work Program at the UC Berkeley Labor Center.

As a writer, I’m hearing a lot about what AI means to our field. The recent Hollywood screenwriter’s strike successfully sought to keep artificially generated film and TV content at bay. And Politico described how it’s already changing the news business.

State Sen. Scott Wiener warned against letting AI technology get ahead of regulation, pointing to belated attempts to reign in Twitter, Facebook and other social media platforms.

“That has resulted in some very, very bad outcomes around privacy and around social media,” he said. “Then ten years later we finally get around to it, and it’s too late.”

Updates on Camping Bans

As California leaders consider a statewide law to limit public camping near sensitive sites and on sidewalks, we’re learning how San Diego’s ban is working, and another city’s homeless plan.

Critics have denounced the San Diego ordinance as too heavy-handed, predicting that it would criminalize homelessness. But Blake Nelson with the San Diego Union Tribune reported last week that enforcement has been light; only two people have been charged and 30 ticketed under the city ordinance.

That’s not to say that there aren’t downsides to the ban. On KPBS Roundtable, Voice of San Diego’s Lisa Halverstadt cited reports of people decamping to other areas after police stepped up patrols downtown.

Meanwhile, Escondido is taking the tough on crime strategy to heart. Voice of San Diego’s Tigist Layne reported on the city’s “public safety first” plan, which would enforce sobriety at a city shelter and crack down on crime that the council said stems from drug use among the homeless population. The measure passed Wednesday by a 4 to 1 vote.

The Sacramento Report runs every Friday and is part of a partnership with CalMatters. Do you have tips, ideas or questions? Send them to me at deborah@voiceofsandiego.org.