California Gov. Newsom signs order demanding federal government regulate AI 'before it's too late'

California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed an executive order on Friday demanding the federal government take more steps to regulate artificial intelligence.

"We’re not waiting to act – we’re going to speed up our work on substantial and responsible AI oversight before it’s too late. We’re going to do this thoughtfully but with urgent velocity; the stakes are too high to wait or delay action," Newsom said in a statement.

Among other requests, the order calls for a group of the world's leading AI experts to develop a guide for California to reinforce and strengthen its AI safety and security laws, and Newsom gives a two-month deadline for the project. One of the proposals is that companies would install a "kill switch" on their AI models in case they go rogue.

Newsom's statement cites an incident where an Anthropic AI model escaped a containment system to hack into another platform, and says the federal government hasn't responded to the concerns.