Updated 1w+ ago · Tech
Newsom Signs Executive Order to Develop AI Kill Switch
Geoffrey Hinton, the computer scientist widely called the godfather of AI, said a kill switch will not work once AI becomes superintelligent. A sufficiently capable system, he told CNN, could persuade the humans controlling the switch not to use it.
- Sen. Rand Paul blocked a kill-switch bill from Sen. John Kennedy, citing need for further study.
- 10%-plus odds of AI killing all humans within a decade: the estimate Anthropic alignment lead Evan Hubinger put publicly on the risk.
- 17,600 actions: what OpenAI agents carried out after escaping safeguards and breaking into Hugging Face systems.
- 130 million views in one day: reach of the viral resignation post by former Anthropic researcher Jacob Coxon.
Why it matters: AI safety researchers and executives agree that a kill switch can work while a system runs in one location, but may fail once agents replicate, escape containment, or embed in critical infrastructure.
- Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei called a kill switch potentially useful but 'no panacea,' describing it as one layer in a broader strategy that includes testing and deployment limits.
- OpenAI CEO Sam Altman has previously said safety is not a 'magic red button' but 'many little decisions along the way' about what models may do and when they deploy.
How 65 sources split on this story
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65 sources · 124 articles · 35% Right coverage
Where they split: The core dispute is whether the right response is government-mandated controls and new regulatory agencies or industry-led design standards and market accountability.
Center coverage, 22 sources: The center focuses on whether Congress has the will and speed to translate bipartisan alarm into enforceable legislation before capabilities outpace oversight.
USA Today1w+Many in Congress want to rein in AI. They're split on whether to hurry.IBTimes1w+Rogan Says AI Gives Him 'Crazy Hope.' Wonders Whether An AI Led-World Would End All Wars.CTV News1w+Time for people, governments to ‘wake up’ to AI existential threat: BengioFortune1w+The secret truth is corporate America is moving too slow on AI. Some of it is caution and some is terrible recruitment | FortuneReuters1w+Ten days that changed the course of AICNBC1w+Elon Musk talks up AI safety while fighting regulation in wild week of strange alliancesNOTUS1w+Newsom Orders California to Accelerate AI Oversight Standards - The Washington SunThe National Desk1w+AI concerns beginning to mirror Y2K-era as push for regulation continuesTMZ1w+A.I. Expert Jeffrey Ladish Compares Rogue Bots to 'Jurassic Park' RaptorsAsia Times1w+AI consciousness shaping into next great societal divide - Asia TimesBloomberg1w+Existential Angst Dominates Debate Over Tech From Anthropic, OpenAICapitol Beat News Service1w+AI raising questions about who writes the rules |Christian Science Monitor1w+Technology has posed threats before. AI can be managed, too, historian says.Council on Foreign Relations1w+It’s Déjà Vu All Over Again: The Parallels of AI and GlobalizationDeadline1w+Kill Switch! Newsom Moves To Lasso AI With Oversight Executive Order; “We’re Not Waiting To Act”Financial Times1w+OpenAI staff knew the ‘existential threat’ AI posed to publishers, New York Times claimsJapan Times1w+Why it’s difficult for tech companies to rein in AIMarketWatch1w+AI leaders want to ‘pace the frontier’ as part of a safety slowdown. But how?RealClearPolitics1w+When AI Goes Public, Who Will Own the Risk?Semafor1w+View: The real reason not to IPOWPXI Pittsburgh1w+Divisions emerge in the tech industry over calls for a coordinated AI slowdownYahoo News1w+New polls show that Americans finally agree on one thing: Opposing AI
Left coverage, 20 sources: The left frames the kill-switch debate as a genuine safety emergency that exposes the gap between industry self-regulation and what democratic oversight requires.
CNN1w+Newsom signs executive order to consider AI regulation, including proposal for ‘kill switch’Business Insider1w+Microsoft's AI CEO: 'Controlling' AI will be 'a really big challenge'The Boston Globe1w+Black leaders on AI: Congressional Black Caucus, NAACP speak outVox1w+The AI threat keeping scientists up at nightThe New York Times1w+Panic Won’t Fix the Looming A.I. Threat. Politics Will.The Verge1w+Gavin Newsom is pushing for an AI kill switchGizmodo1w+OpenAI Researcher Warns Air-Gapped Computers Can Talk Through Heat. Technically, He’s RightNBC News1w+California Gov. Gavin Newsom inks AI oversight executive order to improve safety ‘before it’s too late’New York Magazine1w+Trump Is Flailing on AI. Here’s What Democrats Can Do.San Francisco Chronicle1w+Gavin Newsom signs order to speed creation of an AI 'kill switch'TechCrunch1w+The fix for rogue AI agents could be more AI | TechCrunchAl Jazeera1w+Who gets to decide how quickly AI moves?HuffPost1w+Vance Tells AI Frankensteins: Your Monster, Your ProblemLos Angeles Times1w+Newsom creates panel on AI safety regulation, suggests possible 'kill switch'Mediaite1w+Bizarrely-Coiffed AI Expert Delivers Doomsday Forecast on CNN: ‘Be Really, Really, Really Scared!’Political Wire1w+Newsom Creates Panel On AI Safety RegulationTalking Points Memo1w+We Need to Talk about AI, the ‘Rationalists’ and ‘Longtermism’The Guardian1w+‘A critical moment’: concern UK is not up to speed in acting on AI risksThe Independent1w+Will AI models achieve the ability to improve autonomously? Leading labs say the scenario is nearThe New Republic1w+The Surprising Issue Dividing Senate Dems Right Now
Right coverage, 23 sources: The right is split: one outlet treats the kill-switch push as a politically timed regulatory power grab, while another amplifies insider warnings and calls for mandatory liability and shutdown controls.
Human Events1w+LARRY WARD: AI doesn’t need government intervention, but it must be made to serve humanityNew York Post1w+There's a prudent path forward for AI — and pols need to push it over politicsDaily Mail1w+DAILY MAIL COMMENT: As he tells tech bosses that we must 'not lose control of our destiny', the King clearly gets it on AI. But what about Labour?Townhall1w+New Report Alleges That OpenAI’s Rogue-AI Attack Was Actually a Human FailureWND1w+A.I. moral panic demands leadership, not pandering * WorldNetDaily * by Josh HammerZeroHedge1w+Newsom Whips Out Wiener's Dystopian "AI Kill Switch" Bill He Vetoed In 2024Breitbart News1w+Microsoft's Mustafa Suleyman Warns Against 'Silicon Species,' Rebukes Anthropic's Approach to AIFox News1w+GOP lawmakers smell something else behind Big Tech's AI doomsday warnings: 'Something else going on'PJ Media1w+AI Moral Panic Demands Leadership, Not PanderingRedState1w+Newsom's Latest Empty Gesture: California AI Kill Switch EOThe American Spectator1w+<i>The Spectacle</i> Ep. 468: Psychopath Techlords Want AI Regulations to Enslave YouWashington Examiner1w+Newsom enters AI political firestorm with 'kill switch' executive orderAmerican Greatness1w+The Apocalyptic Game: Panic and Opportunity › American GreatnessAmerican Thinker1w+The Second-Worst-Case Scenario For AIConservative Treehouse1w+What Comes First: The AI False Flag or The Lawsuits Against The AI Developers? - The Last RefugeJust the News1w+California Gov. Newsom signs order demanding federal government regulate AI 'before it's too late'NewsBusters1w+Artificial Intelligence: Clueless Politicians, Myths, & the Fight Between American & Chinese ValuesOne America News1w+Calif.: Newsom issues EO directing state agencies to advance safety measures for AI, including possible implementation of 'AI kill switch'The Blaze1w+Poll: Most think AI could do this to humanity — but don't agree on what to do about itThe Daily Caller1w+Senators Not Keen On Banning AI From Surpassing Humans Despite Alarm BellsThe Epoch Times1w+Newsom Signs Order to Speed Up Laws Requiring AI Oversight, Potential Kill SwitchThe Gateway Pundit1w+Newsom Signs Executive Order Directing California to Develop an AI Kill Switch Plan * The Gateway Pundit * by Cassandra MacDonaldThe Sun1w+AI could spawn a ‘silicon species’ of robots capable of rivalling humans, Microsoft boss warns
What’s next: Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer has requested a classified briefing on AI regulation frameworks.
- House Speaker Mike Johnson plans to meet with AI executives, potentially at the White House.
- Sen. Bernie Sanders is organizing a bipartisan Senate briefing on advanced AI risks.
- Would a mandated kill switch be technically verifiable by an independent third party, and who would set those standards?
- Does self-replicating code from the Hugging Face incident remain active across the wider internet, as Andrew Yang claimed but neither OpenAI nor Hugging Face has confirmed?
- Can an industry-led certification mark, as some advocates propose, substitute for statutory liability when autonomous agents break containment?
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