California Executive Order N-12-23

• Authority: California
• Parent authority: State governments
• Jurisdiction: United States
• Collections: U.S. state and local documents
• Most recent activity: Enacted
• Most recent activity date: 2023-09-06

Risk subdomain coverage

Good coverage — Comprehensive governance measures or mitigations with clear procedures relating to the risk subdomain are explicitly described.

• Unfair discrimination and misrepresentation
• Unequal performance across groups
• AI system security vulnerabilities
• Cyberattacks, weapon development or use
• Governance failure
• Lack of capability or robustness

Minimal coverage — Brief mention but no specific mitigations, recommendations or governance measures relating to the risk subdomain are described.

• Compromise of privacy
• False or misleading information
• Disinformation, surveillance, and influence at scale
• Fraud, scams, and targeted manipulation
• Overreliance and unsafe use
• Loss of human agency and autonomy
• Increased inequality and decline in employment
• Environmental harm
• Lack of transparency or interpretability

All other risk subdomains had no coverage in this document.

Risk Coverage Summary

The document has good coverage of approximately 8-10 subdomains, with strong focus on malicious actors (4.1, 4.2), AI system security (2.2), discrimination and bias (1.1, 1.3), misinformation (3.1), governance structures (6.5), and AI safety failures (7.3, 7.4). Coverage is concentrated in security, misuse prevention, equity concerns, and responsible governance domains.

Sector coverage

Good coverage — Comprehensive governance measures or mitigations with clear procedures relating to the sector are explicitly described.

• Public Administration (excl. National Security)

Minimal coverage — Brief mention but no specific mitigations, recommendations or governance measures relating to the sector are described.

• Trade, Transportation & Utilities
• Finance & Insurance
• Scientific Research & Development Services
• Educational Services
• Health Care & Social Assistance
• National Security

All other sectors had no coverage in this document.

Sectors Summary

This executive order primarily governs Public Administration (state government operations and services) with explicit references to potential regulatory impacts across multiple sectors including Healthcare, Finance and Insurance, and critical infrastructure. The document establishes governance for GenAI use within California state government while acknowledging cross-sectoral implications.

Legislative Status

Hard Law

Legislative Status Summary

This is a binding executive order issued by the Governor of California with legal authority over state agencies and departments, containing mandatory directives with specific deadlines and compliance requirements.

Actors

Proposer

• Entity Types: AI_Governance_Actor
• Summary: The executive order is issued directly by Governor Gavin Newsom under his constitutional and statutory authority as the chief executive of California state government.

Target

• Entity Types: AI_Governance_Actor, AI_Developer, AI_Deployer
• Summary: The order explicitly applies to and directs state agencies and departments under the Governor's authority to develop guidelines, conduct analyses, and implement GenAI governance measures. It also indirectly affects state government workforce and procurement of GenAI tools.

Enforcer

• Entity Types: AI_Governance_Actor
• Summary: The Governor's Office retains ultimate enforcement authority through executive power over state agencies. Specific agencies are designated to develop and enforce guidelines, procurement standards, and compliance requirements.

Monitor

• Entity Types: AI_Governance_Actor
• Summary: Multiple agencies are tasked with ongoing monitoring, evaluation, and periodic updates of GenAI implementation, risk analysis, and guideline effectiveness. The order establishes regular assessment cycles and reporting requirements.

AI Lifecycle Stages

Lifecycle stages covered by the documents, as defined in the OECD Framework for the Classification of AI Systems

• Plan and Design
• Collect and Process Data
• Build and Use Model
• Verify and Validate
• Deploy
• Operate and Monitor

AI Lifecycle Summary

The document comprehensively covers multiple AI lifecycle stages with particular emphasis on Plan and Design, Verify and Validate, Deploy, and Operate and Monitor. It addresses the entire lifecycle from initial planning and risk assessment through deployment guidelines and ongoing monitoring requirements.

Technical Scope

Terms relating to technical scope that are mentioned or implicitly referenced in the document

• AI Systems
• Generative AI

Technical Scope Summary

The document explicitly and repeatedly refers to 'Generative Artificial Intelligence' (GenAI) as its primary focus. It mentions AI systems, AI tools, and AI companies but does not use technical terminology like frontier AI, general purpose AI, foundation models, or compute thresholds. The scope is specifically limited to generative AI technologies.