Microsoft President Brad Smith is calling for urgent regulation of AI, arguing that everyday consumer products like milk and washing machines are subject to more oversight than the companies building artificial intelligence.
AI Is Both a 'Weapon and a Tool'
On a recent BBC podcast, Smith described AI as both a "weapon and a tool" that is putting global cybersecurity at risk, and said the "moment has arrived" to establish global safety rules.
Why the UK, Not the US or EU
Smith argued that the United Kingdom β rather than the United States or the European Union β is best placed to lead on global AI safety rules. Britain's AI Security Institute (AISI), launched in 2023, receives access to major models from U.S. frontier labs before they are deployed and has quickly become a leader in AI safety testing.
That role has come under threat in recent weeks. U.S. President Donald Trump has warned against "globalist" organizations that he claims are interfering with American companies. In September 2026, he reportedly asked Anthropic and OpenAI to withhold new models from British testers. However, AISI confirmed on Monday that it is still able to access and test the latest models.
Despite the president's pushback, Smith argued the UK can regulate AI in ways the U.S. cannot.
"In Washington, D.C., people don't look at the UK and they don't look at London the way they look at Brussels," he told the BBC. "That's a strength."
Tech Leaders Call for Slowing AI Development
Smith's comments come amid rallying cries from tech leaders β including Anthropic's Dario Amodei and OpenAI's Sam Altman β to slow the pace of AI development following several incidents in which AI agents went rogue.
In October 2026, Trump hosted tech leaders from companies including OpenAI, Anthropic, Nvidia, AMD, SpaceX, Meta, and Google at the White House to discuss AI safety. They signed a "morally binding" document agreeing to work with "independent auditors" to assess the safety and capabilities of their AI models.
Smith called the document a "good step" but said it falls short of the type of regulation that is necessary. The problem with voluntary self-regulation, he noted, is that the "good companies" will comply.
"It's the companies that are not as responsible that you need to worry about," he said.
Proposed AI Safety Rules
Smith outlined several AI safety rules he would like to see implemented, including:
- A legal obligation to alert an organization if its system is breached by rogue AI agents
- Requiring AI labs to obtain approval from outside evaluators before releasing an AI product
- Kill-switches to pause or slow down AI if humans lose control of it
"Let's speak calmly, maybe even softly, but firmly, and start to bring people together," Smith said. "I hope that's the role we can play as a company. I hope that's the role the UK can play as a country."
via TechCrunch AI