Microsoft's Brad Smith urges tougher global AI safety rules
Smith says voluntary industry promises are not enough and wants enforceable safeguards, independent safety evaluations and mandatory incident reporting. He also named Britain as best placed to lead.
By Standard Topic. AI-generated from the reporting listed under Coverage. Published . Updated .
This story is no longer being updated. It reflects reporting up to .
What happened
Microsoft President Brad Smith, the company's top executive, said AI faces fewer safety requirements than milk and washing machines. In a BBC interview released Sunday, he argued that self-regulation is not sufficient and called for emergency brakes, mandatory incident reporting and independent safety evaluations. He said Britain's AI Security Institute was well placed to lead global AI safety rules.
Why it matters
Smith argued that companies cannot be left to set the terms of their own transparency. His call comes amid a growing debate over how AI should be regulated.
Timeline
- Oct 12, 11:40 AM ET: Microsoft President Brad Smith said AI faces fewer safety rules than milk and washing machines, calling for emergency brakes and mandatory incident reporting.
- Oct 12, 4:35 PM ET: Smith said voluntary AI safety promises are not enough and that companies cannot dictate the terms of their own transparency.
- Oct 13, 1:20 PM ET: Smith called for a middle ground between heavy-handed AI rules, such as the EU's AI Act, and a laissez-faire approach.
Coverage
- Microsoft president urges AI 'kill switches' and breach alerts as Trump resists new rules (Kim LaCapria)
- Why Microsoft and OpenAI leaders want stronger AI safety laws (News.az)
- Microsoft President Says UK Is Best Placed to Lead AI Regulation (CPI)
- Microsoft’s Brad Smith calls for ‘middle ground’ on global AI regulation | MLex | Specialist news and analysis on legal risk and regulation (mlex.com)
- Microsoft president says milk faces more regulation than AI (Reuters)
- Microsoft Executive Says AI Is Less Regulated than Milk (Ádám Bráder)
- Brad Smith: UK Best Placed to Lead AI Safety Rules (https://www.facebook.com/technologijos.lt/)
- Microsoft's President Brad Smith calls for tough AI rules as UK emerges as global safety watchdog (firstpost.com)
- Milk vs AI: Smith Puts 3 Rival Labs on Notice (Sofia Lindström)
- Microsoft: AI Has Fewer Safety Rules Than Milk [2026] (Sofia Lindström)
- Microsoft president: Voluntary AI safety promises aren’t enough (mashable.com)
- When AI is subject to less regulation than your fridge, something is startlingly wrong (The Guardian)
- Microsoft President Calls for Global AI Safety Regulations (greekreporter.com)
- Microsoft president: AI faces fewer safety requirements than milk, washing machines (The Hill)
- Microsoft president says washing machines, milk face more safety rules than AI (Anadolu Agency)
- Microsoft President Brad Smith calls for global AI regulation (ua.news)
- Microsoft president call for AI regulation, pointing to basic safety gaps (Theunis Jansen van Rensburg)
- Microsoft President Argues AI Less Regulated Than Washing Machines (PYMNTS)
- 'Milk faces more regulation than AI,' emergency brakes must be implemented, says Microsoft pres. (Jerusalem Post)
- Microsoft president calls for global AI safety rules, says milk faces stricter checks than AI (Storyboard18)
- All AI is ‘compromised’ and has fewer rules than milk, Microsoft bosses say (the-independent.com)
- Washing machines more regulated than AI, says Microsoft boss (aol.com)
- AI less regulated than milk, Microsoft president says in warning over safety (The Guardian)
- Milk is better regulated than AI, Microsoft president says (cybernews.com)
- Microsoft president reveals a surprising gap in AI regulation (Aqsa Qaddus Tahir)
- Microsoft's Brad Smith says AI has less regulation than a carton of milk (startupfortune.com)
- Microsoft President: AI Less Regulated Than Milk (The Tech Buzz)
- BBC Audio | Big Boss Interview | Microsoft President: Britain Should Write World's AI Rules (BBC)
- AI is less regulated than milk, Microsoft president says (BBC)
More from artificial-intelligence
- Anthropic co-founder urges binding rules for advanced AI
- China proposes export controls on dozens of technologies
- Accenture caps employee spending on Anthropic's Claude at $29 monthly
- Anthropic's IPO outlook cools as investors weigh lower valuation
- G7 finance chiefs agree to AI cyberattack drills
- OpenAI research model takes funds from unowned crypto wallet
All artificial-intelligence news · artificial-intelligence story archive