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AI kill switch

Proposals for a legal or technical power that would let a government or regulator force an AI system offline during an emergency.

Current stories

leadershipOne report1 publisher

Governors divide over AI kill switches and data-center growth across party lines ahead of 39 races

California's Gavin Newsom and New York's Kathy Hochul are exploring an AI kill switch as 39 governor races go to voters on November 3. Positions on AI cross party lines, so operators siting capacity face rules likely to differ state by state.

Reality

Evidence55
Adoption
Not scored
Hype gap+10
Incentives60
Confidence55
investConfirmed5 publishers

Newsom's kill switch order accelerates California's AI auditor registry by 13 months

The executive order signed on September 18 gives a panel of experts two months to say what an AI emergency stop should be, and the firm date inside it moves the state's audit registry from January 2029 to December 2027.

Perspective Coverage

5 publishers
Builder
Builder 27%
Operator
Operator 33%
Investor
Investor 40%

Reality

Evidence70
Adoption18
Hype gap+45
Incentives68
Confidence72
productConfirmed5 publishers

Newsom gives a working group two months to redraw California's frontier-model audit rules

Newsom's executive order asks an expert group he has not yet named for recommendations on onsite verifiers, independently audited risk reports and a routinely tested kill switch. California has until January 2028 to certify anyone to do the testing.

Perspective Coverage

5 publishers
Builder
Builder 31%
Operator
Operator 42%
Investor
Investor 27%

Reality

Evidence74
Adoption14
Hype gap+34
Incentives72
Confidence71
productOne report1 publisher

Cabinet Office rules out an emergency shutdown power for frontier AI in the UK

A cross-party group of peers and MPs wants a legal power to force a frontier AI model offline in an emergency. The Cabinet Office told the BBC that blocking UK access would not stop models being developed or misused elsewhere.

Publishers:bbc.co.uk

Reality

Evidence52
Adoption
Not scored
Hype gap+22
Incentives62
Confidence45