Microsoft president Brad Smith has called for urgent regulation of artificial intelligence, arguing that everyday products such as milk and washing machines face more oversight than the companies building AI. Speaking on a BBC podcast, Smith described AI as both a weapon and a tool that is putting global cybersecurity at risk, and said the time has come for worldwide safety rules.
Smith said the U.K., rather than the U.S. or the European Union, is best positioned to lead, noting that Washington does not view London with the same suspicion it holds toward Brussels. Britain’s AI Security Institute, created in 2023, receives pre-deployment access to models from major U.S. labs. President Donald Trump reportedly asked Anthropic and OpenAI last month to withhold new models from British testers, though the institute confirmed on Monday that it can still access and test the latest systems.
Smith called the recent White House safety pledge signed by leading AI firms a good step, but said voluntary commitments only bind responsible companies. He backed a legal duty to report breaches by rogue AI agents, outside approval before AI products are released, and kill switches to pause systems if humans lose control. His remarks follow calls from Dario Amodei and Sam Altman to slow AI development.
