AI is less regulated than milk, says Microsoft president

AI is less regulated than milk, says Microsoft president

Milk and washing machines are currently subject to stricter regulation than AI, Microsoft president Brad Smith has said.

Smith said there must be global safety rules, including a legal duty to notify a "victim" if their system is breached by a rogue AI agent, and rules on when outside evaluators should approve an AI product before release.

His remarks put him at odds with President Donald Trump, who has said the industry should regulate itself so US companies do not fall behind Chinese competitors.

But 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."

Calls for laws and rules to govern AI have increased after experts in the field said they believed the technology is a threat to humanity.

Leaders of US-based AI giants including Anthropic, OpenAI and Google DeepMind have all supported the idea of slowing AI development, but Trump has pushed back against that.

Speaking to the BBC's Big Boss Interview, Smith described AI as both a "tool and a weapon" that urgently needs regulation.

"Let's get started today," he said.

He said companies need "emergency brakes" – often called 'kill switches' in the industry – to pause or slow AI if it becomes uncontrollable in some way.

He also said there should be a legal requirement for firms to produce "incident reports" and inform victims if the technology goes rogue. He suggested that independent government evaluators should also review new AI technology.

"We know how to do this for other products," Smith said. "We should build on that knowledge and think about how to apply it to AI."

Smith said the UK was best placed to push ahead with these global AI rules because of its

"In the world of technology, in the tech sector, most people that I know would say, if you ask them, name the country that is the leader in having this technical capability, they would say, it's very simple. It's the United Kingdom. They are the best."

Smith's views differ sharply from those of his president, who believes the US should press ahead at full speed on AI.

Trump has repeatedly said that "whoever wins AI, wins".

However, Smith does not think the US government would oppose UK-led AI regulation as strongly as Trump's comments suggest, saying the US would be more willing to accept the UK setting standards than the EU.

"In Washington DC, people don't look at the UK and they don't look at London the way they look at Brussels – that's a strength," he said.

"When you look at AI agents that have escaped human control, when you look at models that are so powerful that they're putting the world's cybersecurity at risk. I would say: The moment has arrived.

"Let's speak calmly, maybe even softly, but firmly, and start to bring people together. 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."

At the end of last month, Trump hosted the leaders of US tech giants OpenAI, Anthropic, Nvidia, SpaceX, Meta, and Google at the White House, where the executives signed a "morally binding" document.

The companies agreed to work with "independent auditors" to assess whether their AI systems are functioning as intended and to ensure they do not "hack or access technical systems in unintended ways".

Smith said he applauds the statement and that Microsoft is "happy to sign it".

"It's a good step, it's a necessary step... But I don't think it's sufficient any longer."

He added that the challenge for any "self-regulatory regime" is that "the good companies will do what you want".

"It's the companies that are not as responsible that you need to worry about."