California Governor Gavin Newsom signed an executive order to bolster oversight of artificial intelligence, in part by requiring companies to create a "kill switch."
On Friday, Newsom signed that executive order as lawmakers and AI CEOs ramp up pressure on the need to begin regulating the burgeoning sector.
"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," Newsom said on Friday. "We’re going to do this thoughtfully but with urgent velocity; the stakes are too high to wait or delay action."
The debate over how to regulate AI in the US has entered a new, more urgent phase over the past few weeks. Earlier this month, ex-researcher at Anthropic and formerly at OpenAI, Jacob Coxon, said in a resignation post that he believed AI could kill humanity by 2030. Days later, Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman both called for the slowdown of AI given concerns around losing control and power concentration.
The Trump administration has largely dismissed those concerns in favor of staying ahead of China, leaving Congress - and a handful of individual lawmakers pushing narrow bills - to fill that gap.
Newsom's executive order would direct the state's Government Operations Agency to move faster on recently signed bills that create a state registry for AI auditors as well as create a framework for "independent verification organizations" to assess risks. The executive order would require AI companies to create a "kill switch" and require them to include a "designated independent verification organization onsite in their labs to conduct regular audits and evaluations."
"The Governor is calling on Congress and President Trump to review and adopt the state’s framework, or use its nation-leading regulation as a floor, not a ceiling, for the benefit and safety of all Americans," the state said.