Microsoft President Warns AI Is Less Regulated Than Milk, Washing Machines as He Pushes Governments Toward Tougher Safety Rules

Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ:MSFT) President Brad Smith is pressing governments to impose urgent safety requirements on artificial intelligence.

Smith, in an interview with the BBC on Sunday, 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.”

According to Smith, AI must be viewed as both a "tool and a weapon," arguing that governments need common rules as increasingly capable systems gain access to sensitive information and critical infrastructure. “Let’s get started today,” he said.

He proposed requiring companies to notify people affected when rogue AI agents breach systems and to submit formal reports documenting those incidents. He also supported emergency "kill switches" that could pause or slow unpredictable systems.

The Microsoft President warned that this is the time for action, citing AI agents operating beyond human control and powerful models posing cybersecurity risks. “The moment has arrived,” he said.

Smith further called for independent government evaluators to review certain AI products before launch, especially systems with capabilities that could threaten global cybersecurity.

Smith Urges Checks Beyond AI Pledges

At the end of September, President Donald Trump hosted leaders from OpenAI, Anthropic, Nvidia Corp. (NASDAQ:NVDA), Space Exploration Technologies Corp. (NASDAQ:SPCX), Meta Platforms Inc. (NASDAQ:META) and Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) (NASDAQ:GOOGL) at the White House, where they signed a "morally binding" pledge to work with independent auditors to evaluate AI systems and ensure they do not access or hack technical systems in unintended ways.

Smith welcomed the statement, saying Microsoft was "happy to sign it," but doesn’t think self-regulation alone is “sufficient any longer” because less responsible companies may not follow the same standards.

Microsoft Leaders Push for AI Safeguards

Smith’s comments come as other Microsoft-linked leaders also advocate stronger controls. Over the weekend, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella said companies should treat AI models as potential insider risks and rely on external safeguards if advanced systems are compromised. Nadella said organizations cannot reliably trace model behavior to specific training data or model weights, even while granting models access to sensitive data and important actions.

Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates renewed the message on Sunday, calling for AI protections modeled on the safety regimes governing planes, automobiles and medicines. Gates argued that current safeguards do not adequately address AI’s risks or potential misuse.

Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.

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