September 17, 2024
Letter to Governor Newsom from Youth Leaders
Dear Governor Newsom,
Our generation is already saddled with the weight of crisis after crisis we did not create. Exploitative social media platforms that threaten our self-image and expose us to election disinformation. An epidemic of gun violence that steals lives and makes active shooter drills part of the curriculum in our classrooms. A cascade of extreme weather events caused by climate change, including wildfires, disrupt and destroy our communities. And now, we face another emerging threat. A handful of companies are building advanced artificial intelligence that many experts warn could soon pose large-scale risks to society — without basic guardrails or democratic oversight.
We write to you as a coalition of youth leaders from across the United States, including California, working to confront our world’s most pressing challenges — many with existential stakes that young people like us have been asked to bear, despite having no say in the decisions that brought us here. With AI, our leaders have the opportunity to take action before the worst consequences materialize, so that we can fully realize the revolutionary potential of this technology. That opportunity — and responsibility — now lies on your desk. Together, we urge you to sign SB 1047, the Safe and Secure Innovation for Frontier Artificial Intelligence Models Act, into law. By doing so, you will bring us one step closer to a safer future for our generation and the next.
Under your leadership, California has strengthened its nation-leading gun safety laws, accelerated the transition to clean energy, and passed historic measures to tackle online extremism. You are no stranger to being the first mover, and this impressive record of legislative accomplishments is proof; we believe common-sense AI regulation should be your next target. SB 1047’s bipartisan passage in both of California’s legislative chambers reflects a growing national consensus. Recent polling shows broad, cross-partisan public support for proactive measures to ensure AI is developed safely and responsibly. Home to a number of the top tech giants, California is uniquely positioned to steer AI’s future, and you can lead the way.
By enacting SB 1047, California will:
Ensure companies are held liable if they cause severe harm by failing to adopt common-sense AI safety practices.
Protect whistleblowers seeking to come forward to warn about AI risk.
Demonstrate global leadership in protecting public safety while accelerating transformative innovation.
We urge you to seize this pivotal moment and help make history.
From gun violence prevention to climate change to civic engagement to social media safety, California has long been a crucible for forward-thinking policies that diffuse throughout our nation and world. Now, our generation calls upon you to add to that legacy and make the principled decision on SB 1047. Where other leaders throughout history have failed, we call upon you to put our futures first.
Respectfully,*
Rania Zuri
Founder/CEO, The LiTEArary Society
Forbes 30 Under 30
Aidan Kohn-Murphy
Founder, Gen Z for Change
Forbes 30 Under 30
Kevin J. Patel
Founder & Executive Director, OneUpAction International
UN Togetherband Ambassador
Zanagee Artis
Founder, Zero Hour
Trisha Prabhu
Founder, CEO, ReThink
2022 Rhodes Scholar, Forbes 30 Under 30
Emma Lembke
Founder/Director, Log OFF
Zamaan Qureshi
Founder, Co-Chair, Design it for Us
Paul Kramer
Chairman & CEO, Institute for Youth in Policy
Lea Nepomuceno
Co-Founder, Youth for Juvenile Justice Reform
Teen Vogue 21 Under 21
Arielle Geismar
Co-Chair, Design it for Us
Teen Vogue’s 21 Under 21
Salma Abdi
Global Youth Advocate, UNICEF
Denia Smith
Mid-Atlantic Coalition Leader, Girl Up, United Nations Foundation
Morgan Stahr
Co-Founder/Co-President, Blue Future
Joleen Bakalova
Former Chair, California High School Democrats
Naomi Porter
Former Student Member, California State Board of Education
Sunjay Muralitharan
College Democrats of America, National Vice President
Ernesto Cuellar
Vice President, San Francisco Young Democrats
Nardos Mengesha
Vice President of Youth Ambassadors Council, MENTOR Virginia
Austen Wyche
Director of Policy, Harvard Undergraduates for Bipartisan Solutions
William Navarrete Moreno
Founder/Executive Director, TheCHANGEproject
2024-2026 Obama-Chesky Voyager
Hayat Muse
Inaugural Youth Member, Solutions Not Suspensions
Fiona Lu
Co-Founder/Co-Executive Director, What We All Deserve
Ella Duus
Former Editor-in-Chief, Purple America
Maanit Goel
Chair, Washington State Legislative Youth Advisory Council
Jayanti Gupta
Secretary of National Gun Violence Prevention Caucus, College Democrats of America
Eshaam Bhattad
Editor-in-Chief, The Progressive Teen
Marissa Halagao
Founder/President, Filipino Curriculum Project
Nabikshya Rayamajhi
Co-Founder, Oregon Menstrual Equity Initiative
Victoria Zhang
Founder, Let's Vote Texas
Rebecca Joseph
Founder/Co-Executive Director, Women in Politics
Mark Leschinsky
Founder/Executive Director, Student World Impact Film Festival
Jack Kelly
Former National Youth Progressives Coordinator, Biden for President
Saba Mehrzad
Founder, iFeminist
Rachel Gurevich
Former Chair, New Jersey High School Democrats
Sravan Kodali
Founder, March For Our Lives Central New York
Aishwarya Swamidurai
Youth Advisory Council, YMCA of the USA
Claire Chi
Founder and Executive Director, Dancing Against Hunger
Katelyn Cai
Founder, Invest in Her
Sarayu Bethamcherla
Judicial Advocacy Associate, March For Our Lives
Andrew Dong
Board of Advisors, Scanlan Center for School Mental Health
Aakarsh Bengani
President, Berkeley AI Safety Student Initiative
Caroline Gao
Founder/Executive Director, The World in Us
Taha Vahanvaty
Founder/President, The Acceptance Project
Meer Bhavsar
Vice President of Outreach, NextGen Political Consulting at Cornell
Pablo Ramirez
Founder/President, The Invisible Project
Victoria Ren
Board Member, YMCA of Silicon Valley
Joey Misailidis
Founder, Operation Leadership Hawai’i
Sumedh Kotrannavar
National Youth Trainer, Community Anti-Drug Coalitions of America
Sanjitha Vaidyanathan
Founder/President, Elect Safety
Avi Dhyani
Secretary of Disability Caucus, Democratic Party of Georgia
Victor Ye
Co-Founder, UnTextbooked
UNGA79 Delegate
Jenny Duan
@jennysduan, Content Creator
Sam Chen
Founder, Outreach Debate
Deeksha Vaidyanathan
Technology Committee Member, Dublin Unified Student District
Sofia Rodriguez
Director of Research, Paragon Policy Fellowship
Emilie Garrabrant
Youth Advocate and Delegate, UNA-USA
Adrian Klaits
Former Vice Chair of Teen Caucus, Virginia Young Democrats
Metztli Carbajal
Girl of the Year, California Assembly District 80
Anouk Yeh
Youth Poet Laureate, Santa Clara County
Shaun Karakkattu
Youth Regional Focal Point , UN Convention to Combat Desertification
COP28 Delegate
Gitika Gorthi
Founder/CEO, Ignited Thinkers
Adam Cheairs
Phonebank Facilitator , Sunrise Movement
Omer Alaiashy
Founder/Manager, Ramadan Food Grassroots Campaign
Fardouza Farah
Former Minnesota President , Youth Against Sexual Violence
Andy Ju
Founder, Open Hand
Alana Nahabedian
Southern California Regional Representative, UNA-USA National Council
James Zhang
Former School Board Member, Leon County Schools
Angelina Xu
Founder, Compostology
Cherie Animashaun
President, Her Rising Initiative
Preeti Kulkarni
Co-Founder & Executive Advisor, Global Compromise Collective
Claudia Nachega
Deputy Executive Director, Young Feminist Party
Anika Dugal
Founder/CEO, Girls for Algorithmic Justice
Gabriel Wu
Director, Harvard AI Safety Student Team
Diana Chao
Founder/Executive Director, Letters to Strangers
Adri Arquin
President, Stanford Cardinal Policy Group
Jamie Minden
Executive Director, Zero Hour
Samin Bhan
Founder, CEO, Lookupp
Sam Hiner
Co-Founder/Executive Director, Young People's Alliance
Nicolas Gertler
Co-Founder/CEO, Mylon Education
Jason Hausenloy
Co-Director, Center for Youth and AI
Saheb Gulati
Global Goals Ambassador, UNA-USA
Julian Fortuna
Organizer, Georgia Youth Justice Coalition
Katherine He
Co-President, Yale Policy Institute
Marisa Syed
Executive Director, Pages4Progress
Vidya Bharadwaj
Board of Directors, GirlCon
Tazin Khan
Founder and President, Cyber Collective
Neha Shukla
Chair, World Economic Forum Generation AI Council
Siya Mishra
National Policy Vice Chair & Outreach Director, American Youth Association
Riley Reed
Pride Affinity Group Chair, UNA-USA
Nikhita Bhatt
#FreeThePill Youth Councilmember, Advocates for Youth
Saanvi Arora
Co-Founder/Executive Director, Youth Power Project
Mahir Rahman
President, Brown University College Democrats
Adam Billen
General Board, Friends Committee on National Legislation
Isaiah Tejada
Policy Co-Chair, Young Democrats of Orange County
Kashyap Rajesh
National Youth Leader, MIKVA
Kyler Zhou
President, Hear Our Voices Magazine
Anusha Nadkarni
CEO, Diversify Our Narrative
Katelin Wong
2024 Millenium Fellow, United Nations
Talia Wilcox
National Board, Students for Nuclear Disarmament
Soomin Koh
Youth Member, Iowa Juvenile Justice Advisory Council
Daniella Ivanir
Policy and Programs Associate, #HALFTHESTORY
Brian C. Garrett Jr.
Youth Advisory Board Member, Young Invincibles
Jay Clevenger
Secretary, San Diego County Democrats
Santiago M. Rodriguez
Vice-Chair, California Young Democrats Environmental Caucus
Anil Cacodcar
Former Chair, Louisiana Legislative Youth Advisory Council
Sriya Srinivasan
YWOC Organizer, Advocates for Youth
Khushi Patel
Immigration Advocate, Improve The Dream
Bora Yoon
Virginia Policy Director, Generation Ratify
Emily Gorodetskiy
CEO, Youth Entrepreneurship Association
Sage Lenier
Founder and Executive Director, Sustainable and Just Future
Rehman Hassan
Adolescent Champion & Digital Committee Co-Chair, Partnership for Maternal, Newborn, and Child Health
Joe Thompson
Political Director, Monterey-Santa Cruz Building Trades Council Training & Education Fund
Sneha Revanur
President/Founder, Encode Justice
Adam Billen
VP Public Policy, Encode Justice
Sunny Gandhi
VP Political Affairs, Encode Justice
*Titles and affiliations are for identification purposes only; signatures are made by signatories in their personal capacities and do not necessarily represent the views of any organization.