Can AI help solve homelessness? Gov. Newsom thinks so

Gov. Gavin Newsom is asking artificial intelligence companies to help solve the state’s most pressing challenges — housing and homelessness.

On Thursday, Newsom announced the state will seek proposals from AI developers, such as Bay Area tech giants Google and Open AI, to help officials connect homeless people with shelter or treatment and speed up the local permitting process for affordable housing.

“As the birthplace of the tech industry and the fifth largest economy in the world, California isn’t afraid of progress,” Newsom said in a statement. “We’ll deploy every tool to address some of the most vexing issues of our time, including the housing and homelessness crisis.”

At last count, California had an estimated 181,000 homeless residents, accounting for nearly one in three unhoused people nationwide. Despite spending $24 billion on homelessness programs since 2019, the state still lacks anywhere near enough shelter and treatment beds for everyone on the street.

California has also set a goal of building 2.5 million new homes for people of all income levels by 2031, though construction has stalled over the past two years, largely due to soaring interest rates.

Exactly how the new AI programs could operate is unclear. Companies will outline potential solutions and costs in their proposals. Later this month, the state plans to host a meeting with AI developers to discuss how the “large language model” technology could be utilized. It could then start accepting proposals as early as November.

As part of the effort, the state also plans to ask AI companies for ways to help analyze the fiscal and policy impacts of the state budget.

Last September, Newsom signed an executive order directing state agencies to establish guidelines for using AI tools, as well as study how the technology could benefit them. Some agencies are already lining up contracts for tools they hope will reduce traffic, support teachers and improve government processes. The state tax department, for example, aims to use an AI program to help call center agents respond to questions about the state tax code.

The same companies that Newsom is courting to build these tools are also lobbying him to veto what would be one of the most comprehensive laws regulating AI in the country. That legislation, S.B. 1047 from state Sen. Scott Wiener, a San Francisco Democrat, would force AI companies to take safety measures to prevent cyberattacks on critical infrastructure or automated crime, and hold AI companies liable for harm.

Staff writer Kate Talerico contributed to this report.