On Friday, California Governor and guy who is still not officially running for president Gavin Newsom signed an AI-related executive order, and it explores the intriguing idea of a “kill switch” for AI models.
The text of the EO calls for assessments related to:
“Requiring the creation of a ‘kill switch’ for frontier models, with the efficacy of the switch verified on an ongoing basis by an independent verification organization.”
In a press release, Newsom said, “The federal government’s abject failure to create any form of meaningful AI oversight or accountability should alarm every American, especially when AI CEOs themselves are begging for regulation.”
President Trump apparently feels no pressure to respond to fresh AI apocalypse fears triggered by frightening recent pronouncements from former Anthropic engineer Jacob Coxon. Earlier this week, Trump wrote that “AI taking over the World, destroying Humanity, and all other things bad, is a HOAX,” and that AI will be “the Greatest Economic Development Engine in History — Bigger than Oil, Gold, Diamonds, or even the Internet.”
With this order, Newsom, who is already noted for his attempts to dunk on Trump, is once again casting himself as Trump’s direct adversary.
In fairness, Newsom’s tone has been consistent about this for years. Since about 2023, he has spoken about California as a leader in AI safety, noting that much of the industry is based there.
California is the global hub for artificial intelligence — the state procures more advanced technology than any sub-national government.
We’re laying out a series of principles and safeguards to develop safe, transparent, trustworthy AI.https://t.co/f3FsAZexLR
— Governor Gavin Newsom (@CAgovernor) November 22, 2023
But can the governor of a state just mandate an AI kill switch by signing an executive order? Probably not, and that’s not what this order is trying to do. It’s more like an order calling on a panel of experts to come up with an idea related to a kill switch, and to do so quickly.
California’s Government Operations Agency and the Governor’s Office of Emergency Services must convene and submit recommendations per the order, and one of those recommendations will now be about the possibility of a kill-switch for frontier AI models. Actual implementation of any such kill switch will probably be the responsibility of the next governor, which will probably be Democratic nominee Xavier Becerra, since Newsom’s term ends on January 4 of next year.
“We need real guardrails on companies racing toward superintelligence before anyone’s proven they can control it,” Becerra wrote on Threads on Friday.
A federal kill switch bill was floated, but was effectively killed last week when Kentucky Senator Rand Paul blocked passage by unanimous consent. The Republican-led bill put most of the onus on frontier AI companies to add the “kill switch,” potentially making it more of an automated “circuit breaker” requirement than the addition of an external “kill switch.” A bipartisan bill, which is still theoretically up for debate, would be more of a true “kill switch,” giving considerable authority to the Department of Homeland Security to shut down rogue AI models.
The substance of the Newsom executive order is mostly directed elsewhere. As Politico notes, it shaves a year off the implementation timelines for two state laws—both of which are popular among frontier AI companies—aimed at creating regulatory entities.
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