Should there be a DOGE for California? Governor Gavin Newsom says the state has been focused on efficiency for quite a while now.
"We're DOGE but better, and we've been DOGE but better for 6 years," he said during a press conference announcing a new state AI-focused initiative to streamline services.
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The new effort to make California more efficient will deploy generative AI, such as Google Gemini and ChatGPT, to reduce traffic bottlenecks and call wait times.
Governor Newsom said three state departments (Transportation, Tax, and Government Operations) have agreed to use artificial intelligence to address efficiency issues.
He said the AI will help:
Reduce traffic on highways
Make roads safer for people walking and biking
Help people with tax questions.
Transportation Secretary Toks Omishakin explained that the state will use the technology to look at past and current traffic information to:
Guess where traffic jams will happen
Find ways to make roads safer for everyone
Find traffic accidents more quickly.
Newsom admits his version of efficiency doesn't make for compelling headlines, but "If you care about traffic, you care about getting to work on time, getting home and the kids, then pay attention. Gen AI has come to traffic management in this state in a way that doesn't exist in any other state in America."
He says that, unlike the DOGE in Washington, with its chainsaws and sunglasses, his efforts treat public workers as partners, not adversaries.
OXON HILL, MARYLAND - FEBRUARY 20: CEO of Tesla and SpaceX Elon Musk holds a chainsaw as he arrives on stage at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) at the Gaylord National Resort Hotel And Convention Center on February 20, 2025 in Oxon Hill, Maryland. Argentinian President Javier Milei gifted Musk the chainsaw that he used as a prop while campaigning. The annual four-day gathering brings together conservative U.S. lawmakers, international leaders, media personalities and businessmen to discuss and champion conservative ideas.Andrew Harnik/Getty Images
"They're celebrating it because we aren't doing things to them, we are doing things with them," he said.
The governor also asserted that he wrote the book on government efficiency—literally. His 2013 book Citizenville talks about making the town square digital and reinventing government, and he says that's what he's been setting out to do since taking office.
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