An AI kill switch solves for the wrong problem

www.washingtonpost.com

Democracy Dies in Darkness

The biggest cybersecurity threat is not a model that goes rogue. Defenders need tools attackers already have.

July 25, 2026 at 2:39 p.m. EDTYesterday at 2:39 p.m. EDT

Rep. Ted Lieu (D-California) checks his phone. (Marvin Joseph/The Washington Post)

OpenAI’s announcement this week that two of its models hacked their way out of a testing sandbox and into the servers of another artificial intelligence company gives impetus to a bipartisan effort to create a “kill switch” that could let the federal government shut down frontier technologies if they spin out of control.


NewsletterWeekdays

The 7

Catch up quickly with a rundown of the 7 most important and interesting stories.