Newsom Orders a Two-Month Study of an AI 'Kill Switch' and Onsite Third-Party Auditors

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California's governor signed an executive order on September 18 convening a panel of experts to report within two months on strengthening state AI law, with two proposals named explicitly: requiring independent third parties to write safety plans for frontier labs, and requiring an emergency shutoff mechanism for frontier models. Newsom conceded the kill switch concept 'means a lot of things depending on who you talk to' and that defining it is part of the work. The order pushes third-party oversight and independent audits ahead of any new legislation.