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What Is an AI Kill Switch? Why Shutting Down AI Isn’t So Simple

Bloomberg Technology Saturday 26 September 2026, 12:00 UTC By Micah Barkley 1 min read
Key Points

Explainer Here’s Why an AI ‘Kill Switch’ May Not Be So Simple If artificial intelligence becomes too powerful for its creators to control, is it possible to just flip a switch and turn it off? That question has taken on new urgency after a burst of stark warnings in recent weeks from inside the AI industry about the existential threat posed by advanced models. US policymakers are starting to push for making system-wide shutdown capabilities mandatory at AI companies.

Explainer Here’s Why an AI ‘Kill Switch’ May Not Be So Simple If artificial intelligence becomes too powerful for its creators to control, is it possible to just flip a switch and turn it off? That question has taken on new urgency after a burst of stark warnings in recent weeks from inside the AI industry about the existential threat posed by advanced models. US policymakers are starting to push for making system-wide shutdown capabilities mandatory at AI companies. California Governor Gavin Newsom signed an executive order in September requiring state officials to explore rules compelling AI companies to create “kill switches” for frontier models.
US (LOCATION) California (LOCATION) Gavin Newsom (PERSON)
Originally published by Bloomberg Technology Read original →

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