California Just Drew a Line in the Sand on AI and Jobs
The AI jobs conversation just got real. Not LinkedIn think-piece real — executive order from the fifth-largest economy on Earth real. On May 21, 2026, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed a sweeping executive order directing state agencies to prepare workers, small businesses, and communities for the economic disruption AI is already delivering. It landed one day after Meta laid off 8,000 employees while announcing $145 billion in AI infrastructure spending. And it dropped hours after President Trump scrapped his own AI executive order because he “didn’t like certain aspects of it.” ...