Microsoft president: AI faces fewer safety requirements than milk, washing machines

Microsoft President Brad Smith says AI has fewer safety requirements than milk and washing machines, arguing in a BBC interview released Sunday that self-regulation is not “sufficient any longer.”

Smith acknowledged that the idea of government evaluators signing off on a product before its release “makes people nervous,” particularly in the U.S.

“But just remember, right now, your washing machine is subject to more safety rules than AI,” he said. “Every carton of milk that you see in the grocery store is subject to safety rules and inspection.”

“Or think about the airplanes we get on,” Smith continued. “You can get on a plane in London. You can fly to Athens or New York. Either way, that plane has been certified so that it is considered safe by the aircraft regulators in both countries.”

He also called for a “safety brake” on AI systems, comparing the mechanism to circuit breakers in homes and emergency brakes on trains and buses, and he suggested companies should have a legal obligation to tell victims of an AI-powered breach about the incident.

While the Microsoft president applauded a recent White House accord under which several major AI firms committed to policing their own models, he warned that such a regime is not enough.

“I don’t think it’s sufficient any longer,” Smith told the BBC. “Because the challenge for any self-regulatory regime is if it’s left to the industry alone, frankly, the good companies will do what you want. It’s the companies that are not as responsible that you need to worry about.”

Google, Anthropic, Meta, OpenAI, xAI and Nvidia all signed on to the pledge in late September, calling for robust internal controls and external auditing to ensure their models are behaving as intended.

“We should always worry that regulation can become too heavy-handed,” Smith said. “It can slow innovation, and I think President Trump is right to remind us to think about, even worry about those concerns.”

“But right now, I’d argue that AI is moving forward faster than the speed of safety,” he continued. “That’s not good for the protection of the public. It’s not even good for the industry itself.”