AI is less regulated than milk, says Microsoft president
Microsoft president Brad Smith calls for global safety rules for AI, including legal obligations for firms to tell victims if their systems are breached by rogue AI agents.
Intelligence analysis by Qwen 2.5 (3B)
Microsoft president Brad Smith urges global safety rules for AI, including legal obligations for firms to tell victims if their systems are breached by rogue AI agents.
Microsoft's president thinks AI should be more regulated like milk and washing machines. He says there should be rules to make sure AI doesn't go bad and hurt people.
Analysis
Background
The US government has been pushing for self-regulation of AI, with President Trump stating that whoever wins AI wins. However, Microsoft president Brad Smith disagrees, calling for global safety rules and emergency brakes for AI.
What Changed
Smith argues that AI is currently less regulated than milk and washing machines, and that there needs to be a legal obligation for firms to tell victims if their systems are breached by rogue AI agents. He also suggests that independent government evaluators should vet new AI technology.
The Impact of AI on Cybersecurity
Smith believes that AI poses a significant threat to cybersecurity, and that there should be a legal requirement for firms to write incident reports and tell victims if the technology goes rogue. He also suggests that emergency brakes should be implemented to pause or slow down AI if it gets out of control.
The Role of the UK
Smith believes that the UK is best placed to drive forward global AI regulations, citing its AI Security Institute, which was launched during the former prime minister Rishi Sunak's government as the AI Safety Institute. He suggests that the US government would be more accepting of UK-led AI regulations than the EU.
Conclusion
Smith calls for the moment to bring people together and start implementing global AI regulations, suggesting that the UK can play a role in this.
Key points
- Microsoft president Brad Smith calls for global safety rules for AI
- There should be a legal obligation for firms to tell victims if their systems are breached by rogue AI agents
- Independent government evaluators should vet new AI technology
- AI poses a significant threat to cybersecurity
- The UK is best placed to drive forward global AI regulations
With global safety rules in place, AI can be a good tool for good things, like making new medicines or helping with farming.
If AI is not regulated properly, it could cause big problems, like hurting people or breaking important computer systems.
