AI job – Tom Steyer proposes an AI Worker Protection Administration and a token tax to fund job guarantees with benefits for displaced workers in California.
A California candidate’s ambitious plan to protect workers from AI is quickly becoming a political flashpoint, promising job guarantees with benefits for people displaced as automation accelerates.
Billionaire and gubernatorial hopeful Tom Steyer. the first statewide candidate to make such a pledge. says his proposal is designed to keep California from leaving impacted workers behind.. The plan builds on a broader AI policy framework he released in March. positioning California as a “first major economy” that can deliver “good-paying” work for people affected by artificial intelligence.
At the core of Steyer’s funding strategy is an idea he previously discussed: a “token tax.” The concept would require large technology companies to pay a small charge—described as “a fraction of a cent for every unit of data processed” for AI—so that money generated by the tax can support workers and public priorities.. Steyer links that revenue to what he has called the Golden State Sovereign Wealth Fund.
Some of the money funneled into that wealth fund would be directed toward jobs connected to building housing. providing health care. and modernizing California’s energy infrastructure.. Beyond infrastructure investment. the campaign memo described in the report says Steyer intends to put substantial resources toward training and apprenticeship programs across the state. aiming to reduce the gap between job loss and the availability of new roles.
The proposal also seeks to expand unemployment insurance and create a new public body called the AI Worker Protection Administration.. The administration. according to the memo. would bring together union leaders. academics. and technologists to adopt rules meant to protect workers’ rights as AI changes how jobs are designed and staffed.
Steyer frames the push as a response to fear across California. telling WIRED that many residents are worried AI could hollow out the economy and leave them without work.. He also points to younger people concerned they may never land a stable job. arguing that AI could be transformational while still requiring a plan that protects people within the state.
His job-guarantee pitch lands as policymakers at both state and federal levels grapple with the workforce consequences of rapid AI adoption.. In New Jersey. a state senator recently put forward a bill that would require companies that replace workers with AI to contribute to a fund used to retrain displaced employees.. In Congress. multiple proposals have focused on grants and tax credits intended to help companies finance AI training for workers already employed.
Steyer’s token-tax idea is not new to the debate. and it has surfaced in leadership circles tied to leading AI companies.. Dario Amodei. CEO of Anthropic. has previously discussed the concept of a token tax and suggested it could be a reasonable solution even while acknowledging it is not in his economic interest.. The report also notes that in April. OpenAI proposed a public wealth fund concept similar in spirit to Steyer’s framework.
The political timing is also notable.. Steyer’s announcement follows days after Democratic primary opponent Xavier Becerra. a former Health and Human Services secretary under President Joe Biden. released his own AI plan.. Becerra’s approach calls for “workforce investment and transition support. ” but. as described in the report. it does not specify a particular funding mechanism.
In his memo outlining his proposal. Becerra argued that workforce investment must accompany AI-driven change. stating that “Displacement without support is abandonment.” He said he would work with the Legislature. the California public education system. and industry partners to build workforce programs designed to be accessible and “stackable. ” with an emphasis on helping Californians prepare for the AI economy and navigate role changes.
Meanwhile, federal pressure on state AI regulation is part of the broader backdrop.. The report states that the White House has threatened to pursue states that choose to regulate AI. and it points to a December executive order signed by President Donald Trump that could revoke federal broadband funding from states that approve “onerous” AI laws.
These tensions are showing up in local campaigns as well.. In New York. the report says a super PAC backed by several Silicon Valley figures. including OpenAI cofounder Greg Brockman. has targeted Alex Bores. a Manhattan congressional candidate who has made AI regulation a central element of his campaign.
Steyer’s comments ultimately return to a question of leadership and what kind of future California should build.. He argues that not regulating AI is not reasonable. but adds that if California wants to lead. it needs a vision that includes people who might otherwise bear the costs of innovation—rather than a future defined mainly by the gains of entrepreneurs.
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AI workforce policy job guarantee proposal token tax worker retraining California AI regulation unemployment insurance expansion sovereign wealth fund