California Governor Gavin Newsom orders emergency kill switch plan for advanced AI systems

California Governor Gavin Newsom has issued an urgent executive order to accelerate oversight of advanced AI systems, including exploring an emergency 'kill switch' for frontier models. The order, signed September 18, speeds up implementation of two new state AI laws requiring independent verification and auditor registration. Experts must deliver recommendations within two months on whether AI companies should have onsite independent evaluators and shutdown mechanisms for their most advanced agents. Newsom criticized Washington's lack of AI oversight, urging President Trump and Congress to adopt California's framework as a national baseline. The order comes amid heated debate over AI development pace, with Senator Elizabeth Warren calling for a pause and Senators Sanders and Casar proposing a permanent ban on artificial superintelligence. Trump has rejected slowdowns as a competitive risk against China, while some industry leaders like Anthropic's Dario Amodei support greater oversight.