Newsom names four experts to design California's AI kill switch

Executive Order N-9-26, signed 18 September, told California's Government Operations Agency — consulting the Office of Emergency Services — to convene experts and come back within two months. On Wednesday Newsom named them: Jason Goldman, a board member of the Center for Shared AI Prosperity and the first White House chief digital officer; Gillian Hadfield of Johns Hopkins and the Vector Institute; Alondra Nelson of the Institute for Advanced Study, formerly acting director of the White House OSTP; and Rob Reich of Stanford, formerly a senior adviser to the US AI Safety Institute.

Their brief is unusually concrete for a state advisory panel. Onsite independent verification at frontier labs — inspectors stationed inside the companies. Verified safety frameworks and risk assessments checked by outside parties. Updated definitions of critical safety incidents, explicitly including loss-of-control incidents. And the item that has drawn the attention: what the order itself calls “a ‘kill switch’ for frontier models, with the efficacy of the switch verified on an ongoing basis by an independent verification organization.”

The order also tells GovOps to accelerate two laws already on the books. SB 813, from Senator McNerney, creates a framework for certifying independent verification organisations. AB 1405, from Assemblymember Bauer-Kahan, creates a state registry of AI auditors with independence and transparency standards. Both build on SB 53, the 2025 Transparency in Frontier Artificial Intelligence Act.

Read against Wednesday's Security Council meeting, the sequencing is the story. The federal government told the UN it wants no new governance structures. California is building the verification apparatus anyway, in the state where most of the frontier labs sit.

• Confirmed Four experts named 23 September: Jason Goldman, Gillian Hadfield, Alondra Nelson and Rob Reich. Office of Governor Gavin Newsom
• Confirmed EO N-9-26 directs recommendations within two months on onsite independent verification at frontier labs, verified safety frameworks, an emergency shutoff, and updated critical-incident definitions including loss of control. Office of Governor Gavin Newsom
• Confirmed GovOps is also told to accelerate SB 813 (certifying independent verification organisations) and AB 1405 (a state registry of AI auditors), both building on 2025's SB 53. Office of Governor Gavin Newsom