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Newsom Orders California Experts to Develop AI Safety Rules, Including ‘Kill Switch’
California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed an executive order Friday directing state officials and outside experts to develop recommendations for strengthening California’s artificial intelligence safety laws, including a possible emergency “kill switch” for advanced AI models.
The order calls for a group of experts to provide recommendations within two months. The proposals will examine additional oversight of frontier AI companies, independent audits and safety requirements.
One proposal would require frontier AI companies to have independent verification organizations conduct regular safety audits and evaluations. Another would advance the creation of an emergency shutoff mechanism for frontier AI models, with its effectiveness independently verified on an ongoing basis.
Newsom said California needs to move quickly on AI safety while continuing to develop the technology.
“We’re going to do this thoughtfully but with urgent velocity; the stakes are too high to wait or delay action,” Newsom said in a statement.
The executive order comes shortly after Newsom signed two laws establishing new AI oversight measures in California.
Senate Bill 813 creates a framework for independent verification organizations that can assess AI systems for safety and risk. Assembly Bill 1405 establishes a state registry for AI auditors and sets standards concerning their independence, transparency and integrity.
The new executive order directs the state to accelerate implementation of those laws while considering additional requirements for frontier AI companies.
The order also calls for California to consider expanding the definition of critical AI safety incidents to include “loss-of-control” incidents, including the recently reported incident involving AI models and the Hugging Face platform.
Newsom’s announcement comes amid renewed debate over how quickly AI systems are advancing and what safeguards should accompany that development.
Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei recently called for slowing the pace of AI development to address potential risks, while other technology leaders and researchers have also raised concerns about AI safety.
California is home to many of the companies developing advanced AI systems, making state regulations particularly relevant to the technology industry.
The executive order does not itself create a statewide AI “kill switch.” Instead, it directs officials and experts to develop recommendations for potential changes to California law, including whether and how such an emergency shutoff requirement could work.
California already has laws addressing AI safety, privacy, deepfakes, cybersecurity, child safety and other areas of artificial intelligence policy.
The latest order is the newest step in California’s ongoing effort to establish rules governing the development and use of artificial intelligence.
Explore: NBCPalmSprings.com, where we are connecting the Valley
By: CNN Newsource
September 18, 2026
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