Microsoft president Brad Smith says AI is less regulated than milk and calls for kill switches, incident reporting and government sign off on frontier models
AI is less regulated than milk, says Microsoft president
Context
A senior executive at one of the biggest AI companies is calling for binding safety rules, a contrast with the US government's push to speed AI ahead.
BBCWorld is linking its own interview: Smith spoke to Will Bain on the BBC's Big Boss Interview. Polymarket posted the quote earlier, on October 11.
Deep dive
On October 12, BBCWorld posted: AI is less regulated than milk, says Microsoft president.
According to the BBC, Smith said: Right now, your washing machine is subject to more safety rules than AI. Every carton of milk that you see in the grocery store is subject to safety rules and inspection. He called AI both a tool and a weapon that urgently needs regulating, and said AI is moving forward faster than the speed of safety.
Smith set out three measures. Firms need emergency brakes, often called kill switches, to pause or slow AI that gets out of control. There should be a legal requirement to write incident reports and tell victims when a rogue AI agent breaches their systems. The biggest question, he said, is when government evaluators should have to sign off on frontier models before release.
The BBC reported that Smith said the UK is best placed to lead, calling its AI Security Institute the strongest in the world at testing models. He said industry self regulation is a good and necessary step but no longer sufficient, because the companies that are not as responsible are the ones to worry about. The BBC noted his views differ sharply from President Trump's push to go full steam ahead on AI.
What to expect next
Watch whether the UK moves toward mandatory testing or sign off for frontier models, and whether other AI companies back or reject Smith's proposals.
Also watch for any US response, given the administration's stance against heavy AI rules, and whether incident reporting or kill switch requirements appear in upcoming UK or EU measures. Smith's comments also put pressure on rival AI companies to say where they stand on government testing.