SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Next time you’re stuck in traffic driving to Sacramento from Davis on Interstate 80, keep your eyes peeled for Gov. Gavin Newsom’s photo.

Well, not a real photo. It’s an AI-generated image of the governor, laughing against a backdrop of a congested freeway.

The billboard, designed and paid for by state workers, alleges the traffic you’re sitting in might have been made worse by Newsom’s decision to call state workers back to offices, clogging up Sacramento-area freeways along the way. The billboard targets those driving eastbound into Sacramento from Davis, and is situated on the north side of I-80 just before the Capital City Freeway junction in West Sacramento.

Since Newsom announced that state employees could expect to be working in person four days a week, up from the current two-day minimum, they have protested what they see as an unnecessary disruption and burden.

Perhaps the most visible form of protest is the I-80 billboard, which managed to crowd-source more than $20,000 from over 800 donors. The grassroots effort grew from an active Reddit forum for state employees, where the billboard’s organizer has been an active member for years.

The organizer, a state worker who requested her name not be published to prevent retaliation, used ChatGPT to create the image of a laughing Newsom, “with his buddies,” with drivers stuck in bumper-to-bumper traffic in the background. She hopes to highlight what she and other state workers see as a discrepancy between the governor’s explanation for the order and the tangible impact: more traffic on California roadways and pollution in the air.

While some state workers are eager to pay for the public criticism of Newsom, it’s not clear how effective the billboard will convey a relatively complex political message given the advertisement’s limited messaging potential.

Additionally, the billboard raises questions about the use of artificial intelligence to create political messages, which has been the subject of lawmakers’ efforts to regulate how the technology can be used.

Newsom doesn’t seem too concerned with his employees’ effort to publicly shame him. When asked for comment, the Governor’s Office referred to an earlier statement praising state workers and celebrating “civic engagement.”

With thousands of dollars more than she originally solicited, it’s clear that state workers will continue practicing their freedom of speech. The organizer said she has plans to put up a second billboard closer to downtown next month.

‘Short and sweet’

The most successful uses of billboards tend to fall into one of two categories.

Cornelia Pechmann, a marketing professor at UC Irvine’s Paul Merage School of Business, said these outdoor advertisements work well to consistently deliver messages with the hope of changing societal norms. As examples, she pointed to campaigns for using seat belts and against drunk driving.

Billboards are also good for telling a large number of people about something happening soon, such as a concert or sporting event, Pechmann said.

The freeway criticism of Newsom falls into the latter category.

The billboard’s final message dropped the teaser element the initial design included: “Think traffic is bad now? Wait until July 1st,” which Pechmann said is useful to catch drivers’ attention about an issue important to them — traffic — and leads them to do their own research.

Instead, the final billboard is providing I-80 drivers with extensive information about the issue and includes a call to action, which can be very helpful, Pechmann said. The billboard lists the phone number to Newsom’s office and the website NoToRTO.org.

But she also noted that highly informative billboards aren’t always a great idea. Drivers have minimal time to read them.

“You can’t possibly explain the issue and tell them the call to action and get them riled up all in one billboard,” Pechmann said. “You have to be short and sweet.”

That being said, it will work if people drive by it over and over or traffic is slow so they have time to read it, she noted.

That’s exactly what the organizer hopes will happen.

“When people are stuck in traffic, they’re going to look out and see the billboard and they’ll see the phone number and hopefully they’ll call, put pressure on the office and say something to address the state workers’ concerns,” the organizer said.

More than 130,000 vehicles drive on that stretch of the freeway daily, according to Caltrans’ average of traffic data from September.

Artificial images

Like many AI images, Newsom’s likeness on the billboard resembles him, but on closer inspection, it’s clear something is off.

The use of the generative technology to create fake images of public figures is a cause for concern among California lawmakers, who placed limits on the use of AI for commercial purposes and elections during last year’s legislative session.

There are several laws — AI-related and not — that could apply to state workers using Newsom’s likeness without his consent, said Tyler Ochoa, a law professor with the High Tech Law Institute at Santa Clara University.

The common law right of publicity prevents individuals from evoking another’s identity for their own advantage, commercial or otherwise, Ochoa said. He said, technically, that law would apply to the billboard situation.

“But of course, the First Amendment would prohibit the state from enforcing it,” Ochoa said. He added that Newsom is politically savvy and it would be unlikely for the governor to take down a billboard using this law.

Another law relates specifically to the use of AI-generated images of elected officials.

Assembly Bill 2355 requires political advertisements that include material generated or altered by AI to include a disclosure statement indicating the technology was used in producing the content. The Fair Political Practices Commission is tasked with enforcing this law, violations of which can incur a $5,000 penalty.

While the message isn’t taking a specific stance in an upcoming election, Newsom is an elected official and the organizer’s message is a critique of his policy decisions.

“I want them to call their Assembly members, call their senators, call Newsom’s office,” the organizer said. “Tell them we’re not going to vote for them if they’re not going to stand up for us.”

The initial design that ultimately raised over $20,000 for the billboard did not include any indication that the picture of Newsom wasn’t actually him.

But after consulting with the billboard company, the organizer said she added the language: “Image is AI generated and not a real photo of Gavin Newsom.”

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