California Governor Signs AI Kill Switch Executive Order, Directs Oversight Commission

Governor Gavin Newsom signed Executive Order N-9-26 on September 18, 2026, directing California state agencies to accelerate independent oversight of artificial intelligence systems and commission national experts to develop recommendations for an AI emergency shutoff mechanism by November 2026. The order does not mandate immediate implementation of a kill switch but instead establishes a timeline for studying the technical feasibility and legal framework needed to halt frontier AI models if they pose severe risks or become autonomous actors capable of critical harm.