Why I’m Running for Governor of California

I want to save California and America from the dangers of artificial intelligence.

Something is desperately wrong in California. Whether it is the spectacle of homeless people wandering the streets, wildfires razing entire towns, blatant crime in our cities, or sky-high costs to find housing, California has become a dystopia. And, now, looming above all that is the artificial intelligence (AI) crisis coming to take the jobs people have.

California is my birthplace and home, as well as the state where my wife and I raise our two young daughters. However, over the past decade, I have angrily watched this state flounder and become almost unlivable. This is why today I am announcing my run for California Governor in the 2026 election. I cannot stand by and watch this beautiful state go to ruin.

As a Democrat, my policies are markedly different from the other candidates running, as is my resume. I am not a lawyer, bureaucrat, or a career-minded politician, and I am definitely not some woke idealist. I am one of the world’s most accomplished futurists. My work has ranged from speaking at the World Bank to consulting for the United States Armed Forces to appearing on The Joe Rogan Experience to being a correspondent for The New York Times. And much of that work has been about reshaping what the American Dream is, and what it can become—especially through the use of innovative ideas and technology.

California needs more than a new vision: It needs a reset. So does America for that matter. Because if you think the chaos, division, and instability over the last decade have been intense, it is nothing compared to what AI is going to do over the next five years. There is a distinct possibility that nearly half of Californian and American jobs will be lost by 2030. And many of those remaining jobs will disappear by 2035. Robots nearly as agile as Olympic gymnasts are on schedule to be mass produced next year. AI—almost as intelligent as any human—is in training as we speak. By 2027, AI robots will be significantly smarter and more functional than most of us. These are no longer just far-fetched opinions. Many experts worry that this is our certain future.