Oregon Governor issues executive order on frontier AI oversight

Oregon Governor Tina Kotek has issued Executive Order 26-26, establishing new safety and oversight standards for the procurement and use of advanced artificial intelligence models by the state government. The order aims to ensure that any frontier AI models used by the state have undergone independent, third-party safety reviews.

Under the directive, State Chief Information Officer Terrence Woods is tasked with developing specific criteria for adequate safety reviews and must submit an implementation proposal to the governor within 90 days. The order also mandates an assessment regarding the feasibility of requiring a “kill switch” for frontier AI models—highly advanced systems capable of complex tasks.

Governor Kotek stated that while federal oversight would be most effective, the state must act due to a lack of federal guardrails. She noted that the state cannot rely solely on the private sector to self-regulate technology that poses evolving risks. Oregon joins other states, such as California and New York, in taking regulatory steps toward frontier AI models.