{"slug": "newsom-executive-order-contains-eyebrow-raising-ai-kill-switch-proposal", "title": "Newsom Executive Order Contains Eyebrow-Raising AI Kill Switch Proposal", "summary": "California Governor Gavin Newsom signed an executive order on Friday, September 18, 2026, directing the California Government Operations Agency and the Governor's Office of Emergency Services to convene and submit recommendations that include requiring the creation of a \"kill switch\" for frontier AI models, with efficacy verified on an ongoing basis by an independent verification organization. Newsom said in a press release that \"the federal government's abject failure to create any form of meaningful AI oversight or accountability should alarm every American,\" while President Trump wrote earlier this week that \"AI taking over the World, destroying Humanity, and all other things bad, is a HOAX.\" The order follows Kentucky Senator Rand Paul's blocking of a federal kill switch bill by unanimous consent last week, and implementation would likely fall to the next governor, with Newsom's term ending January 4.", "body_md": "On Friday, California Governor and guy who is still not officially running for president Gavin Newsom signed an AI-related executive order, and it explores the intriguing idea of a “kill switch” for AI models.\n\nThe text of the EO [calls for assessments related to](https://www.gov.ca.gov/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/FINAL-N-9-26-AI-EO-9.18.26-SIGNED.pdf):\n\n*“Requiring the creation of a ‘kill switch’ for frontier models, with the efficacy of the switch verified on an ongoing basis by an independent verification organization.”*\n\n[In a press release](https://www.gov.ca.gov/2026/09/18/governor-newsom-issues-executive-order-to-accelerate-independent-oversight-and-advance-the-creation-of-an-ai-kill-switch/), Newsom said, “The federal government’s abject failure to create any form of meaningful AI oversight or accountability should alarm every American, especially when AI CEOs themselves are begging for regulation.”\n\nPresident Trump apparently feels no pressure to respond to fresh AI apocalypse fears triggered by [frightening recent pronouncements](https://gizmodo.com/ai-doomlord-jacob-coxons-media-tour-has-begun-2000809720) from former Anthropic engineer Jacob Coxon. [Earlier this week](https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/trump-administration/trump-rejects-ai-guardrails-rcna597700), Trump wrote that “AI taking over the World, destroying Humanity, and all other things bad, is a HOAX,” and that AI will be “the Greatest Economic Development Engine in History — Bigger than Oil, Gold, Diamonds, or even the Internet.”\n\nWith this order, Newsom, who is [already noted for his attempts to dunk on Trump](https://gizmodo.com/gavin-newsoms-bizarro-trump-schtick-gets-even-weirder-with-a-memecoin-2000649951), is once again casting himself as Trump’s direct adversary.\n\nIn fairness, Newsom’s tone has been consistent about this for years. Since about 2023, he has [spoken about California as a leader in AI safety](https://x.com/CAgovernor/status/1727434161500393732), noting that much of the industry is based there.\n\n California is the global hub for artificial intelligence — the state procures more advanced technology than any sub-national government.\n\nWe’re laying out a series of principles and safeguards to develop safe, transparent, trustworthy AI.[https://t.co/f3FsAZexLR](https://t.co/f3FsAZexLR)\n\n— Governor Gavin Newsom (@CAgovernor) [November 22, 2023](https://x.com/CAgovernor/status/1727434161500393732?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw)\n\nBut can the governor of a state just mandate an AI kill switch by signing an executive order? Probably not, and that’s not what this order is trying to do. It’s more like an order calling on a panel of experts to come up with an idea related to a kill switch, and to do so quickly.\n\nCalifornia’s Government Operations Agency and the Governor’s Office of Emergency Services must convene and submit recommendations per the order, and one of those recommendations will now be about the possibility of a kill-switch for frontier AI models. Actual implementation of any such kill switch will *probably* be the responsibility of the next governor, which will *probably* be Democratic nominee Xavier Becerra, since Newsom’s term ends on January 4 of next year.\n\n“We need real guardrails on companies racing toward superintelligence before anyone’s proven they can control it,” Becerra [wrote on Threads on Friday](https://www.threads.com/@becerraforgovernor/post/DdcEyoMmCHN).\n\nA federal kill switch bill was floated, but was effectively killed last week when [Kentucky Senator Rand Paul blocked passage by unanimous consent](https://www.politico.com/live-updates/2026/09/16/congress/paul-kills-kill-switch-bill-01081348). The Republican-led bill [put most of the onus on frontier AI companies to add the “kill switch,”](https://www.politico.com/live-updates/2026/09/14/congress/kennedy-readies-ai-kill-switch-bill-01076078) potentially making it more of an automated “circuit breaker” requirement than the addition of an external “kill switch.” A [bipartisan bill](https://www.politico.com/news/2026/07/23/house-ai-kill-switch-bill-unveiled-as-openai-hack-raises-alarms-01008898), which is still theoretically up for debate, would be more of a true “kill switch,” giving considerable authority to the Department of Homeland Security to shut down rogue AI models.\n\nThe substance of the Newsom executive order is mostly directed elsewhere. [As Politico notes](https://www.politico.com/news/2026/09/18/newsom-california-executive-order-ai-01083826), it shaves a year off the implementation timelines for two state laws—[both of which are popular among frontier AI companies](https://gizmodo.com/newsom-signs-ai-industry-approved-ai-regulation-bills-into-law-in-california-2000809702)—aimed at creating regulatory entities.", "url": "https://wpnews.pro/news/newsom-executive-order-contains-eyebrow-raising-ai-kill-switch-proposal", "canonical_source": "https://gizmodo.com/newsom-executive-order-contains-eyebrow-raising-ai-kill-switch-proposal-2000814471", "published_at": "2026-09-19 18:42:15+00:00", "updated_at": "2026-09-19 18:53:21.657978+00:00", "lang": "en", "topics": ["ai-policy", "ai-safety", "artificial-intelligence"], "entities": ["Gavin Newsom", "California Government Operations Agency", "Governor's Office of Emergency Services", "Donald Trump", "Rand Paul", "Xavier Becerra", "Jacob Coxon", "Anthropic"], "alternates": {"html": "https://wpnews.pro/news/newsom-executive-order-contains-eyebrow-raising-ai-kill-switch-proposal", "markdown": "https://wpnews.pro/news/newsom-executive-order-contains-eyebrow-raising-ai-kill-switch-proposal.md", "text": "https://wpnews.pro/news/newsom-executive-order-contains-eyebrow-raising-ai-kill-switch-proposal.txt", "jsonld": "https://wpnews.pro/news/newsom-executive-order-contains-eyebrow-raising-ai-kill-switch-proposal.jsonld"}}