California announces AI training push – but details are slim

CALIFORNIA – Governor Gavin Newsom announced August 8 a partnership with major tech companies Google, Microsoft, IBM and Adobe, aimed at preparing California for the “AI Future.”

He says the agreements will help train California’s workforce for a wide range of jobs in AI, at no cost to the state.

The initiative promises to provide California’s workforce access to online AI training courses and certifications, designed to help them get high-paying careers in these fields.

“With agreements like these, we are doing what California does best – investing in the innovation economy to create new industries and new opportunities,” said senior advisor to the governor Dee Dee Myers.

However, the announcement offered no concrete numbers on how many jobs might be created.

Goldman Sachs estimates that AI automation could put 300 million jobs worldwide at risk. While AI may create new jobs, many of these roles could eventually be automated as technology advances.

Training tools already publicly available

The agreements will support faculty and students across community colleges and California State University as well as help high schools modernize their curricula with the latest AI tools.

It will also foster networking and internship opportunities while expanding access to state-of-the-art technology, according to Newsom’s office.

However, most AI tools and training programs named in the partnership have already been freely available for months or longer.

The partnership seems to focus on scaling access, institutional integration, and marketing rather than providing completely new AI resources or tools exclusive to Californians.

Implementation phase

The press release states key leaders in the new partnership will begin implementing efforts to use Generative AI (GenAI) to benefit all Californians.

GenAI refers to AI models that can generate new content, such as text, images, code, and audio, rather than just analyzing or classifying existing data.