California's 2026 AI legislative wave includes the No Robo Bosses Act, new AI evaluator certification requirements, companion chatbot child safety rules, and restrictions on arbitrator AI, making the state the most comprehensive AI regulator among US states. The No Robo Bosses Act specifically targets the use of fully automated systems to make consequential employment decisions, such as firing or discipline, without meaningful human review.
California's approach, legislating specific, narrow use cases rather than attempting a single comprehensive AI law, mirrors how the state has historically handled privacy regulation, and gives other states a menu of individually testable provisions rather than one all-or-nothing framework to copy or reject wholesale.