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Microsoft President Urges AI Regulation, Cites Milk and Washing Machines
Confirmed
In Short: Microsoft President Brad Smith is calling for stricter AI regulations, comparing current oversight to that of milk and washing machines.
Microsoft President Brad Smith is urging governments to impose stricter safety regulations on artificial intelligence, arguing that AI is currently less regulated than everyday products like milk and washing machines.
Speaking to the BBC's Big Boss Interview podcast, Smith emphasized the need for global safety rules, including a legal obligation for companies to inform victims if their systems are breached by rogue AI agents.
Smith also suggested that independent government evaluators should vet new AI technology before it is released to the market, and that firms should have 'emergency brakes' to pause or slow down AI if it gets out of control.
He noted that the UK is well-positioned to lead in establishing these global rules due to its AI Security Institute, which was launched during former Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's government.
Smith's comments come amid a growing debate over AI regulation, with some industry insiders believing a major AI-related catastrophe could occur within the next six to 12 months.
In an interview with the BBC, Smith outlined a package of proposed rules: companies would be legally obligated to inform affected individuals when an AI agent goes rogue and compromises their systems, file formal 'incident reports,' and submit new AI products to review by independent government evaluators before those products reach the market.
Smith also applauded a recent statement signed by US tech giants at the White House, where they agreed to work with independent auditors to assess whether their AI systems are working as intended and to ensure they do not 'hack or access technical systems in unintended ways.'
However, Smith noted that while the US government under President Trump has been supportive of AI development, it may be more accepting of UK-led AI regulations than those from the EU.
Smith's calls for tougher regulations reflect a broader concern within the tech industry about the potential risks of AI, with Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella previously stating that all AI models should be treated as 'compromised' and potentially dangerous.
What this adds
Smith's comparison of AI regulation to that of milk and washing machines highlights the disparity in current oversight.
The debate over AI regulation is intensifying, with some insiders predicting a potential catastrophe within the next year.
What's confirmed
- "It's the companies that are not as responsible that you need to worry about."
- Speaking to the BBC's Big Boss Interview podcast, Smith called AI both a "tool and a weapon" that urgently needed to be regulated.
- Trump has repeatedly said that "whoever wins AI, wins".
- "It's a good step, it's a necessary step... But I don't think it's sufficient any longer."
- The president of the tech giant calls for global rules on AI, and says the UK is in the "best position" to lead the charge. At the end of last month, Trump hosted the leaders of US tech giants OpenAI, Anthropic, Nvidia, SpaceX, Meta, and Google at the White House where the executives signed a "morally binding" document. The companies agreed to work with "independent auditors" to assess whether their AI systems are working as intended and make sure they do not "hack or access technical systems in unintended ways". Smith said he applauds the statement and Microsoft is "happy to sign it".
- Brad Smith, president of Microsoft, has told the BBC that milk and washing machines are more regulated than artificial intelligence, and global safety rules are needed.
- They are the best.” "When you look at AI agents that have escaped human control, when you look at models that are so powerful that they're putting the world's cybersecurity at risk.
- This lack of oversight underscores the urgent need for global artificial intelligence (AI) regulation, Brad Smith said in a BBC interview Monday (Oct. 12).
What's still developing
- According to Smith, AI must be viewed as both a "tool and a weapon," arguing that governments need common rules as increasingly capable systems gain access to sensitive information and critical infrastructure.
- Speaking to the BBC, Smith described AI as both a “tool and a weapon” and urged the immediate imposition of stricter regulations on the technology.
- “No matter what size you are, you can have access to a 10-person compliance team, if that’s something that would be of value to you,” Krishnan told PYMNTS Larger institutions, meanwhile, could use agents to boost the capacity of existing teams, while keeping consequential regulatory decisions in the hands of humans.
- That role has been under threat in recent weeks, with U.S. President Donald Trump warning against “globalist” organizations, which he claims are interfering with American companies.
- A carton of milk undergoes strict safety inspections before reaching the shelf, yet Microsoft President Brad Smith warns that AI faces almost no regulatory oversight.
- "As these technologies spread more broadly, we either address this now, we either put the kind of safeguards in place that we need, or we run a greater risk."