California Governor Gavin Newsom has issued an urgent directive to accelerate oversight of advanced AI systems, including exploring an emergency ‘kill switch’ for frontier models. Signed on September 18, the executive order speeds up the implementation of two new state AI laws that establish independent verification organisations and registry for AI auditors. Newsom said that experts must deliver recommendations within two months on whether AI companies should have independent evaluators onsite and whether their most advanced agents should be equipped with shutdown mechanisms.
Gavin Newsom criticised Washington’s lack of AI oversight
Newsom sharply criticized Washington’s lack of AI oversight, calling it a “failure to create meaningful accountability.” He urged President Donald Trump and Congress to adopt California’s framework as a national baseline. In a post of social media platform X (formerly known as Twitter) Newsom wrote: “I just signed an EXECUTIVE ORDER to dramatically accelerate independent oversight of AI companies and advance the creation of an “AI kill switch.” With Donald Trump and Congress failing to lead, California is stepping up to keep all Americans safe.”
Part of a broader slowdown debate
Newsom’s order lands in the middle of an increasingly heated fight over whether AI development needs to slow down to let safety measures catch up. Senator Elizabeth Warren called this week for a pause in advanced AI development, arguing that decisions of this magnitude should rest with elected officials rather than private companies. Senator Bernie Sanders and Representative Greg Casar have gone further, proposing legislation that would permanently ban the development and deployment of artificial superintelligence while temporarily halting advanced AI development until federal safety rules exist.Even within the AI industry itself, opinions are split. Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei has pushed for the industry to slow its pace and accept greater third-party oversight, and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman has similarly backed calls for a more measured pace of development.Trump, however, has firmly rejected the idea of slowing down, framing it as a competitive risk against China. In a call with Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, Trump dismissed AI-safety concerns as overblown, arguing that data centers create jobs and wealth, and that pumping the brakes only helps China gain ground.
What happens next
With the expert panel’s recommendations due within two months, California’s move could set an early template for how individual states choose to regulate frontier AI in the absence of federal rules — while also sharpening the divide between state-level caution and the White House’s full-speed-ahead posture on AI development.
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