This week, Gov. Gavin Newsom of California signed a big package of A.I. and social media bills into law — including the first state law in the United States to regulate A.I. companions. We talk through what stood out to us in the package and whether these protections will work. Then, the subpoena that has the whole tech world talking. Nathan Calvin, general counsel at Encode, an A.I. safety advocacy group that has been critical of OpenAI, talks with us about why he thinks the company is investigating him. And finally, grab your opera glasses. It’s time for the first edition of The Hard Fork Review of Slop.Guests:<ul><li><a href="https://encodeai.org/team-members/nathan-calvin/">Nathan Calvin</a>, vice president of state affairs and general counsel at Encode</li></ul>Additional Reading:<ul><li><a href="https://www.platformer.news/california-ai-companion-law-newsom-openai/">California Regulates A.I. Companions</a></li><li><a href="https://sfstandard.com/2025/09/02/openai-sam-altman-elon-musk-ai-regulation/">OpenAI Thinks Its Critics Are Funded by Billionaires. Now It’s Going After Them.</a></li></ul>We want to hear from you. Email us at <a href="mailto:hardfork@nytimes.com">hardfork@nytimes.com</a>. Find “Hard Fork” on <a href="https://www.youtube.com/hardfork">YouTube</a> and <a href="https://www.tiktok.com/@hardfork">TikTok</a>.
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