Microsoft president calls for global AI safety rules

Microsoft president Brad Smith has called for global safety rules for artificial intelligence, arguing that milk and washing machines are subject to more safety requirements than AI.

Speaking on the BBC’s Big Boss Interview podcast, Smith said companies should have a legal duty to notify people affected when an AI agent goes rogue. He also called for firms to prepare emergency brakes to pause AI systems that get out of control and to file incident reports. He suggested independent government evaluators should assess some AI products before release.

Smith said the UK was in the “best position” to lead international rules, citing its AI Security Institute. The institute was launched under former prime minister Rishi Sunak’s government as the AI Safety Institute.

His call for regulation contrasts with President Donald Trump’s position that the AI sector should regulate itself so US companies can compete with Chinese rivals. Smith said he believed Washington would be more accepting of UK-led standards than of rules led by the EU.

At a White House meeting late last month, executives from OpenAI, Anthropic, Nvidia, SpaceX, Meta and Google signed a non-binding document supporting independent audits of AI systems. Smith welcomed it as a necessary step, but said it was not sufficient. He said self-regulation relies on responsible companies, while less responsible firms remain a concern.