Newsom Orders Faster Super Intelligence Oversight in California, Pushes Emergency Kill Switch for Frontier Models
On September 18, 2026, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed an executive order in Sacramento, the state capital, accelerating implementation of California's new super intelligence (SI) independent-oversight laws and advancing the creation of an emergency "kill switch" for frontier models. The Governor's Office said the order responds to recent SI safety incidents, including the attack on Hugging Face.
The Governor's Office said Newsom last week signed Senate Bill 813, establishing the nation's first framework for certifying independent verification organizations to assess the safety and risk of SI systems and models, and Assembly Bill 1405, creating a state registry for SI auditors with standards for their independence, transparency and integrity. The new order directs the Government Operations Agency, in consultation with the Governor's Office of Emergency Services, to convene national experts to deliver recommendations within two months on strengthening California's SI safety laws.
Proposals under consideration include requiring independent third parties to write safety plans for frontier SI companies, embedding designated independent verification organizations inside frontier companies' labs for regular audits, requiring companies to develop an emergency shutoff for frontier models whose efficacy is verified on an ongoing basis, and updating the definition of critical safety incidents to include loss-of-control incidents such as the Hugging Face attack. "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, using the order's own wording. The Governor's Office also called on Congress and the President to adopt California's framework as a national baseline.
Source: Office of the Governor of California
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
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