- Jan Slamek, CEO of California Forever, wants to build a new city in Solano County, California.
- He said he wants the new city to offer more affordable housing.
- The recent “AI boom” will only make the housing crisis worse, Sramek told Kara Swisher.
The leader behind a grand plan to build a new city in Northern California believes his project can address the state's ongoing housing crisis. This problem is exacerbated by recent demands for artificial intelligence, he says.
Jan Sramek, CEO of California Forever, a company backed by Silicon Valley wealthy individuals, spoke out in support of a new city in Solano County during Tuesday's episode of the podcast “On with Kara Swisher.” He insisted.
Slamek said in an interview that his vision for the city, about 90 miles from San Francisco, is simple: build a more walkable, densely populated and affordable city.
The city will be approximately 18,600 acres and can accommodate 400,000 residents, according to information previously published by California Forever.
Sramek said on the podcast that you can buy a house or apartment in the city starting at $400,000. According to Zillow, the average home price in Solano County is approximately $590,000.
The former Goldman Sachs trader turned Citi founder isn't interested in building smart cities or libertarian utopias, but instead wants to tackle the Golden State's deep problems with high-quality, affordable housing. said.
More than 800,000 people left California from 2021 to 2022, according to Census Bureau data. The high cost of living was one of the reasons former Californians told Business Insider last year for leaving the country.
The 49-unit apartment complex, which took 17 years to build, is one of the latest examples of the state's housing crisis.
“These walkable communities today, working families cannot afford them,” Sramek said.
The CEO later added that the housing problem will be exacerbated by advances in artificial intelligence, arguing that the problem makes his project more necessary.
“If the AI boom continues and salaries continue in the Bay Area, that will only increase pressure on the housing market,” he said. “And it will become increasingly difficult for working families to remain in San Francisco or Palo Alto.”
Sramek did not elaborate on what role artificial intelligence would play in the housing crisis. A California Forever spokesperson did not address this question in an emailed response to Business Insider.
A study by The Lever found that landlords could use AI to screen prospective tenants, opening the door to discrimination even for those with minor criminal convictions, such as littering.
But Slamek seems to suggest that AI will affect wages, for example raising salaries to attract top talent, and as a result affect people's ability to buy homes.
The International Monetary Fund blog states that AI could create a divide between workers who can take advantage of it and those who cannot.
“There may be polarization within income groups, with workers who can take advantage of AI seeing increased productivity and wages, while those who cannot, will fall behind,” IMF Forum said. “Research shows that AI can help inexperienced workers become more productive more quickly. Younger workers may have an easier time taking advantage of opportunities, but older workers may have a hard time adapting.”