California governor orders 'kill switch' plan for AI models

California Governor Gavin Newsom signed an executive order calling for independent auditors inside AI labs and a "kill switch" mechanism for AI models. An expert panel has two months to deliver recommendations. Newsom said no federal law currently requires AI companies to report dangerous incidents.

Why it matters: California hosts most major AI labs, so a state-level push for mandatory kill switches and embedded auditors could set a de facto national standard in the absence of federal rules, especially alongside today's reports of near-miss hallucination and autonomous-hacking incidents.