[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":376},["ShallowReactive",2],{"header":3,"footer":26,"footer-cities":54,"content-\u002Fnews\u002Fkern-county-voters-split-on-asking-ai-for-help-with-a-long-midterm-ballot":235},{"id":4,"title":5,"body":6,"description":10,"extension":13,"links":14,"meta":20,"navigation":21,"path":22,"seo":23,"stem":24,"__hash__":25},"header\u002Fheader.md","Central Valley AI",{"type":7,"value":8,"toc":9},"minimark",[],{"title":10,"searchDepth":11,"depth":11,"links":12},"",2,[],"md",[15],{"label":16,"to":17,"icon":19},"News",{"path":18},"\u002Fnews\u002F","mdi-newspaper-variant-outline",{},true,"\u002Fheader",{"title":5,"description":10},"header","ceT4J-WxxOBdbhRC-UD3fo0Npu7vWt2o2B9b_LURPmE",{"id":27,"title":28,"body":29,"copyright":33,"description":10,"developedBy":34,"extension":13,"links":41,"meta":49,"navigation":21,"path":50,"seo":51,"stem":52,"__hash__":53},"footer\u002Ffooter.md","Footer",{"type":7,"value":30,"toc":31},[],{"title":10,"searchDepth":11,"depth":11,"links":32},[],"© {year} All rights reserved.",{"label":35,"link":36},"Developed by",{"label":37,"to":38,"target":39,"logo":40},"Kaweah Tech","https:\u002F\u002Fkaweah.tech","_blank","https:\u002F\u002Fassets.kaweah.tech\u002Flogo-black-on-transparent-tight.svg",[42,43,46],{"label":16,"to":18},{"label":44,"to":45},"About","\u002Fabout\u002F",{"label":47,"to":48},"Privacy Policy","\u002Fprivacy-policy\u002F",{},"\u002Ffooter",{"description":10},"footer","Ras2AGS8Wuda4aBPrbAbOivaxIsAoDbo9SNCA0w554g",[55,85,123,154,181,208],{"id":56,"title":57,"body":58,"county":77,"description":10,"extension":13,"intro":78,"meta":79,"navigation":21,"path":80,"seo":81,"stem":82,"tag":83,"__hash__":84},"cities\u002Fcities\u002Fbakersfield.md","Bakersfield",{"type":7,"value":59,"toc":74},[60,65],[61,62,64],"h2",{"id":63},"ai-in-bakersfield","AI in Bakersfield",[66,67,68,69,73],"p",{},"Bakersfield's AI conversation sits at the intersection of municipal government, the ",[70,71,72],"strong",{},"California State University Bakersfield"," community, and the energy and ag operators that drive Kern County's economy. The city was an early mover on AI-assisted permitting and has been a recurring backdrop for parent- and teacher-led debates about classroom AI use. Articles below follow specific Bakersfield initiatives, public-meeting decisions, and Kern County workforce stories — and how they reflect national AI trends from a regional vantage point.",{"title":10,"searchDepth":11,"depth":11,"links":75},[76],{"id":63,"depth":11,"text":64},"Kern County","Bakersfield and the surrounding Kern County are home to some of the most concrete AI-in-government experiments in the Central Valley, from instant municipal permitting to school-district debates about classroom AI. Coverage on this page tracks how AI is reshaping public services, education, and the energy and agriculture economies that dominate the region.",{},"\u002Fcities\u002Fbakersfield",{"title":57,"description":10},"cities\u002Fbakersfield","bakersfield","ozFL4HvDA_g7UrRE1mHbKqcS-vDLwbiH9JWVh3rB2Ac",{"id":86,"title":87,"body":88,"county":115,"description":10,"extension":13,"intro":116,"meta":117,"navigation":21,"path":118,"seo":119,"stem":120,"tag":121,"__hash__":122},"cities\u002Fcities\u002Ffresno.md","Fresno",{"type":7,"value":89,"toc":112},[90,94,109],[61,91,93],{"id":92},"ai-in-fresno","AI in Fresno",[66,95,96,97,100,101,104,105,108],{},"Fresno's AI story spans several distinct ecosystems. ",[70,98,99],{},"Fresno State"," and the ",[70,102,103],{},"California State University"," system anchor a workforce-readiness push, while local ",[70,106,107],{},"Fresno Unified School District"," debates around responsible use have made the city a recurring reference point in California's K-12 AI conversation. The city's economic base in agriculture, healthcare, and public services means most AI adoption stories here are about applied uses rather than model development — a different posture than coastal tech hubs but arguably more consequential for the people living here.",[66,110,111],{},"Use the articles below to follow how AI is showing up in Fresno-area institutions and businesses.",{"title":10,"searchDepth":11,"depth":11,"links":113},[114],{"id":92,"depth":11,"text":93},"Fresno County","Fresno is the largest city in California's Central Valley and the regional center for AI adoption across agriculture, healthcare, higher education, and small business. Coverage on this page tracks how AI is being applied — and contested — in and around the city of Fresno and Fresno County.",{},"\u002Fcities\u002Ffresno",{"title":87,"description":10},"cities\u002Ffresno","fresno","gOL2xk8y9t9OV6PPxP02OjYhZFHC_Cg-VGijh_V93dI",{"id":124,"title":125,"body":126,"county":146,"description":10,"extension":13,"intro":147,"meta":148,"navigation":21,"path":149,"seo":150,"stem":151,"tag":152,"__hash__":153},"cities\u002Fcities\u002Fmerced.md","Merced",{"type":7,"value":127,"toc":143},[128,132],[61,129,131],{"id":130},"ai-in-merced","AI in Merced",[66,133,134,135,138,139,142],{},"Merced is a research-heavy node in the Central Valley AI ecosystem. ",[70,136,137],{},"UC Merced"," faculty appear in national conversations about AI safety, autonomous vehicles, climate modeling, and pediatric health applications, while the ",[70,140,141],{},"Merced Unified School District"," and surrounding county institutions navigate the same K-12 and workforce questions the rest of the Valley faces. The articles below cover both the campus research story and the broader applied uses around the city and county.",{"title":10,"searchDepth":11,"depth":11,"links":144},[145],{"id":130,"depth":11,"text":131},"Merced County","Merced punches above its weight in AI research, anchored by UC Merced — a leading West Coast hub for AI in agriculture, climate, autonomous systems, and health. Coverage on this page tracks both academic research coming out of the campus and how AI is showing up across Merced's schools, businesses, and county institutions.",{},"\u002Fcities\u002Fmerced",{"title":125,"description":10},"cities\u002Fmerced","merced","pSWWlEzMdcv2_RZrUKdkEHU3bixNboePGdHbSdd1m34",{"id":155,"title":156,"body":157,"county":173,"description":10,"extension":13,"intro":174,"meta":175,"navigation":21,"path":176,"seo":177,"stem":178,"tag":179,"__hash__":180},"cities\u002Fcities\u002Fmodesto.md","Modesto",{"type":7,"value":158,"toc":170},[159,163],[61,160,162],{"id":161},"ai-in-modesto","AI in Modesto",[66,164,165,166,169],{},"Modesto's AI conversation tends to combine ag-tech adoption stories with workforce-readiness questions for the city's small and mid-sized employers. ",[70,167,168],{},"CSU Stanislaus"," and the regional community college network shape the higher-ed angle. Coverage below follows Modesto-area AI announcements and the wider Stanislaus County context.",{"title":10,"searchDepth":11,"depth":11,"links":171},[172],{"id":161,"depth":11,"text":162},"Stanislaus County","Modesto and Stanislaus County sit between the Bay Area and the southern Valley, and their AI story reflects that bridging role — from agriculture and food processing to the **California State University Stanislaus** community to small businesses adapting to AI-driven changes in marketing, hiring, and operations.",{},"\u002Fcities\u002Fmodesto",{"title":156,"description":10},"cities\u002Fmodesto","modesto","l75Dc40MX8wTb4lD088Yx9we4ypuDwmcvE-uEdqqREc",{"id":182,"title":183,"body":184,"county":200,"description":10,"extension":13,"intro":201,"meta":202,"navigation":21,"path":203,"seo":204,"stem":205,"tag":206,"__hash__":207},"cities\u002Fcities\u002Fstockton.md","Stockton",{"type":7,"value":185,"toc":197},[186,190],[61,187,189],{"id":188},"ai-in-stockton","AI in Stockton",[66,191,192,193,196],{},"Stockton's economic base in logistics, healthcare, and higher education gives the city a different AI profile than the southern Valley. ",[70,194,195],{},"University of the Pacific"," anchors the academic conversation, while San Joaquin County government, hospitals, and warehouse operators are navigating practical adoption questions: cost, training, security, workforce impact. The articles below track Stockton-area AI announcements and the broader San Joaquin County context.",{"title":10,"searchDepth":11,"depth":11,"links":198},[199],{"id":188,"depth":11,"text":189},"San Joaquin County","Stockton and San Joaquin County sit at the northern edge of the Central Valley, where logistics, healthcare, and the University of the Pacific shape the local AI adoption story. Coverage on this page follows how AI is being put to work — and questioned — across San Joaquin County's institutions, employers, and public services.",{},"\u002Fcities\u002Fstockton",{"title":183,"description":10},"cities\u002Fstockton","stockton","TYEBK9akp2HbpAFmYY67FeKt7Rs7L8tvtYeQBtgJAHw",{"id":209,"title":210,"body":211,"county":227,"description":10,"extension":13,"intro":228,"meta":229,"navigation":21,"path":230,"seo":231,"stem":232,"tag":233,"__hash__":234},"cities\u002Fcities\u002Fvisalia.md","Visalia",{"type":7,"value":212,"toc":224},[213,217],[61,214,216],{"id":215},"ai-in-visalia","AI in Visalia",[66,218,219,220,223],{},"Visalia's AI footprint is grounded in the practical adoption stories that come with a Tulare County economy built around agriculture, food processing, and rural healthcare. ",[70,221,222],{},"College of the Sequoias"," and the surrounding K-12 districts anchor the education conversation. The articles below cover Visalia-area AI developments and the Tulare County context, with a focus on applied uses rather than research or model development.",{"title":10,"searchDepth":11,"depth":11,"links":225},[226],{"id":215,"depth":11,"text":216},"Tulare County","Visalia is the largest city in Tulare County and a center for agriculture, healthcare, and county-government services in the southern Central Valley. Coverage on this page tracks how AI is being adopted across Tulare County's schools, hospitals, ag operations, and small business community.",{},"\u002Fcities\u002Fvisalia",{"title":210,"description":10},"cities\u002Fvisalia","visalia","gN4g7aAl-cqD4FfSTgtTAarltUoKLh8NFlPzCbZngqU",{"id":236,"title":237,"archived":238,"author":239,"body":240,"date":364,"dateModified":364,"description":365,"extension":13,"meta":366,"navigation":21,"path":367,"rawbody":368,"seo":369,"sitemap":370,"stem":371,"tags":372,"__hash__":375},"news\u002Fnews\u002Fkern-county-voters-split-on-asking-ai-for-help-with-a-long-midterm-ballot.md","Kern County voters split on asking AI for help with a long midterm ballot",false,"CVAI Newsdesk",{"type":7,"value":241,"toc":357},[242,246,250,266,269,272,275,279,282,285,288,292,295,298,301,305,308,311,314,317,320,323,326,329,344,347,351],[243,244,237],"h1",{"id":245},"kern-county-voters-split-on-asking-ai-for-help-with-a-long-midterm-ballot",[61,247,249],{"id":248},"key-takeaways","Key Takeaways",[251,252,253,257,260,263],"ol",{},[254,255,256],"li",{},"Before Tuesday's midterm, some Kern County voters used AI platforms to research a long list of ballot measures, KBAK reported.",[254,258,259],{},"Voter Robert Lima said he doesn't like AI for this because there's no way to confirm what it tells him.",[254,261,262],{},"Ian Marlow, founder of cybersecurity at Fitech, said voters should use AI to gather facts and shouldn't ask it for opinions.",[254,264,265],{},"Marlow said different AI systems can reflect the views of the companies that built them.",[66,267,268],{},"Robert Lima didn't trust it.",[66,270,271],{},"\"AI, I don't like because there's no way you can confirm it,\" Lima told KBAK in the days before Tuesday's election.",[66,273,274],{},"Some of his neighbors felt differently. With a long list of ballot measures in front of them, some Kern County voters turned to artificial intelligence platforms to sort through the information before voting, the Bakersfield station reported. Others shared Lima's doubts about whether a chatbot is the right tool for election research.",[61,276,278],{"id":277},"what-was-on-the-ballot","What was on the ballot",[66,280,281],{},"Kern voters didn't have any county government races this fall. KGET reported those were decided in June, and the countywide ballot had only one item, a measure tied to the CALM Zoo.",[66,283,284],{},"The statewide list was longer. Voters were asked to decide on a one-time wealth tax to pay for health care, education and food assistance, a voter ID and citizenship verification measure (Proposition 39) and funding for immunology and immunotherapy research, among other propositions.",[66,286,287],{},"Ballots went out to voters Oct. 5, according to KGET. The county elections office, at 1115 Truxtun Ave. in Bakersfield, had 20 drop boxes around the county.",[61,289,291],{"id":290},"what-voters-said","What voters said",[66,293,294],{},"A voter identified only as Leon gave AI a qualified yes.",[66,296,297],{},"\"It can be if it's used properly,\" he told the station.",[66,299,300],{},"Lima wasn't convinced. His concern was less about the technology itself and more about how much bad information people already run into online, and how hard it is to sort out what's real.",[61,302,304],{"id":303},"what-the-expert-advised","What the expert advised",[66,306,307],{},"Ian Marlow, whom KBAK identified as an AI expert and founder of cybersecurity at Fitech, said AI should help voters collect information. It shouldn't replace their own judgment.",[66,309,310],{},"\"AI is not something to ask opinion. It is something to help you gather fact,\" Marlow said.",[66,312,313],{},"Marlow told the station that what people get out of an AI system depends heavily on how they phrase their questions. He also warned that the systems aren't neutral by default. He said many users don't realize that \"different AIs made by different software companies express potentially the opinions of others.\"",[66,315,316],{},"For voters who wanted to use AI anyway, Marlow recommended Claude, a chatbot made by the AI company Anthropic. He pointed to a setting that changes how the system responds, including a mode he said can look for connections across several pieces of information that don't appear related.",[66,318,319],{},"\"There's a little slider when you get into it,\" Marlow said. He said that in the mode the company calls work, users can ask it in plain conversation how separate pieces of information might relate.",[66,321,322],{},"\"Those results are amazing to read,\" he said.",[66,324,325],{},"Lima had a simpler reason for staying away.",[66,327,328],{},"\"There's so many people, you see so much stuff on the internet,\" he said. \"You know that you don't know what to believe anymore.\"",[66,330,331],{},[332,333,334,335,337,338,343],"em",{},"Central Valley AI is produced by the ",[70,336,239],{}," team and developed by ",[339,340,37],"a",{"href":38,"rel":341},[342],"nofollow",", a regional firm that builds, deploys, and integrates AI solutions for businesses across California's Central Valley.",[345,346],"hr",{},[61,348,350],{"id":349},"source","Source",[66,352,353],{},[339,354,355],{"href":355,"rel":356},"https:\u002F\u002Fbakersfieldnow.com\u002Fnews\u002Flocal\u002Fvoters-turn-to-ai-platforms-for-help-deciding-on-midterm-ballot-measures",[342],{"title":10,"searchDepth":11,"depth":11,"links":358},[359,360,361,362,363],{"id":248,"depth":11,"text":249},{"id":277,"depth":11,"text":278},{"id":290,"depth":11,"text":291},{"id":303,"depth":11,"text":304},{"id":349,"depth":11,"text":350},"2026-11-04","Before Tuesday's election, some Kern County voters used AI chatbots to research state propositions. Others said they couldn't trust the answers, and a cybersecurity founder urged caution.",{},"\u002Fnews\u002Fkern-county-voters-split-on-asking-ai-for-help-with-a-long-midterm-ballot","---\nauthor: CVAI Newsdesk\ndate: '2026-11-04'\ndateModified: '2026-11-04'\ndescription: Before Tuesday's election, some Kern County voters used AI chatbots to\n  research state propositions. Others said they couldn't trust the answers, and a\n  cybersecurity founder urged caution.\ntags:\n- bakersfield\n- elections\n- technology\ntitle: Kern County voters split on asking AI for help with a long midterm ballot\n---\n\n# Kern County voters split on asking AI for help with a long midterm ballot\n\n## Key Takeaways\n\n1. Before Tuesday's midterm, some Kern County voters used AI platforms to research a long list of ballot measures, KBAK reported.\n2. Voter Robert Lima said he doesn't like AI for this because there's no way to confirm what it tells him.\n3. Ian Marlow, founder of cybersecurity at Fitech, said voters should use AI to gather facts and shouldn't ask it for opinions.\n4. Marlow said different AI systems can reflect the views of the companies that built them.\n\nRobert Lima didn't trust it.\n\n\"AI, I don't like because there's no way you can confirm it,\" Lima told KBAK in the days before Tuesday's election.\n\nSome of his neighbors felt differently. With a long list of ballot measures in front of them, some Kern County voters turned to artificial intelligence platforms to sort through the information before voting, the Bakersfield station reported. Others shared Lima's doubts about whether a chatbot is the right tool for election research.\n\n## What was on the ballot\n\nKern voters didn't have any county government races this fall. KGET reported those were decided in June, and the countywide ballot had only one item, a measure tied to the CALM Zoo.\n\nThe statewide list was longer. Voters were asked to decide on a one-time wealth tax to pay for health care, education and food assistance, a voter ID and citizenship verification measure (Proposition 39) and funding for immunology and immunotherapy research, among other propositions.\n\nBallots went out to voters Oct. 5, according to KGET. The county elections office, at 1115 Truxtun Ave. in Bakersfield, had 20 drop boxes around the county.\n\n## What voters said\n\nA voter identified only as Leon gave AI a qualified yes.\n\n\"It can be if it's used properly,\" he told the station.\n\nLima wasn't convinced. His concern was less about the technology itself and more about how much bad information people already run into online, and how hard it is to sort out what's real.\n\n## What the expert advised\n\nIan Marlow, whom KBAK identified as an AI expert and founder of cybersecurity at Fitech, said AI should help voters collect information. It shouldn't replace their own judgment.\n\n\"AI is not something to ask opinion. It is something to help you gather fact,\" Marlow said.\n\nMarlow told the station that what people get out of an AI system depends heavily on how they phrase their questions. He also warned that the systems aren't neutral by default. He said many users don't realize that \"different AIs made by different software companies express potentially the opinions of others.\"\n\nFor voters who wanted to use AI anyway, Marlow recommended Claude, a chatbot made by the AI company Anthropic. He pointed to a setting that changes how the system responds, including a mode he said can look for connections across several pieces of information that don't appear related.\n\n\"There's a little slider when you get into it,\" Marlow said. He said that in the mode the company calls work, users can ask it in plain conversation how separate pieces of information might relate.\n\n\"Those results are amazing to read,\" he said.\n\nLima had a simpler reason for staying away.\n\n\"There's so many people, you see so much stuff on the internet,\" he said. \"You know that you don't know what to believe anymore.\"\n\n*Central Valley AI is produced by the **CVAI Newsdesk** team and developed by [Kaweah Tech](https:\u002F\u002Fkaweah.tech), a regional firm that builds, deploys, and integrates AI solutions for businesses across California's Central Valley.*\n\n---\n\n## Source\n\nhttps:\u002F\u002Fbakersfieldnow.com\u002Fnews\u002Flocal\u002Fvoters-turn-to-ai-platforms-for-help-deciding-on-midterm-ballot-measures\n",{"title":237,"description":365},{"loc":367},"news\u002Fkern-county-voters-split-on-asking-ai-for-help-with-a-long-midterm-ballot",[83,373,374],"elections","technology","33hi0WEbdaYLQUAqNnAlV0x4DTDUSB5fW2zw9tiELDo",1793794389117]