Newsom Orders 2-Month AI Safety Panel as California Weighs Kill Switch
Updated
Updated · Los Angeles Times · Sep 18
Newsom Orders 2-Month AI Safety Panel as California Weighs Kill Switch
3 articles · Updated · Los Angeles Times · Sep 18
Summary
California on Friday ordered a panel of outside experts to draft AI safety rules within two months, with options including emergency shutoffs for models that go rogue.
The move follows recent warnings from AI company employees that advanced systems could cause catastrophe, including a claim from former Anthropic researcher Jacob Coxon that firms are "gambling with our lives."
Newsom is revisiting an idea he rejected in 2024, when he vetoed a bill requiring companies to be able to turn off AI models they directly control, citing risks to innovation and gaps for smaller models.
State Sen. Chris Cabaldon said fall hearings will examine whether California's current rules are too weak, a debate with global reach because many leading AI companies are based in the state.
Will California's urgent push for AI containment successfully protect the public, or accidentally drive cutting-edge innovation out of the state entirely?
If autonomous AI can break out of test sandboxes, could a mandated kill switch actually become a new target for catastrophic cyberattacks?