California's Newsom Issues Executive Order to Weigh AI Oversight, Including 'Kill Switch'

By Elias Schisgall

California Gov. Gavin Newsom issued an executive order ramping up the state's oversight of artificial-intelligence systems and their safety and security risks.

The Friday order would convene experts to mull possible AI-oversight policies, including requirements for frontier AI labs to embed independent evaluators, get independent verification of their safety frameworks and reports and create a "kill switch" for cutting-edge models.

California's Government Operations Agency would issue recommendations about each proposal's technical feasibility and potential efficacy within two months, according to the order.

The order would also speed the implementation timelines for two California state laws establishing a framework for independent AI-verification organizations and create a state registry for AI auditors.

"We're going to do this thoughtfully but with urgent velocity; the stakes are too high to wait or delay action," Newsom said.

Newsom's move comes as discussions about AI risk have exploded from Silicon Valley circles into public view, fueled by OpenAI's disclosure that its agents went rogue and attacked the AI company Hugging Face, as well as a former Anthropic employee's public warning that frontier AI labs are "gambling with our lives."

In recent days, leaders of Anthropic, OpenAI, SpaceX and Google's AI have all said the pace of AI research should be slowed. Both Anthropic and OpenAI said they would embed independent AI evaluators within their firms.

President Trump has opted for a lighter-touch approach to AI regulation, driven by his belief that the U.S. must outrace China to developing increasingly capable systems, The Wall Street Journal has reported.

Newsom's office on Friday called Trump and Congress "asleep at the wheel" when it comes to AI regulation and said the governor "is once again taking the lead to strengthen AI safety for all Americans."

"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," Newsom said.

"We're not waiting to act--we're going to speed up our work on substantial and responsible AI oversight before it's too late," he added.

Write to Elias Schisgall at elias.schisgall@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

September 18, 2026 12:51 ET (16:51 GMT)