Microsoft President Brad Smith called for global artificial intelligence regulations on October 11, 2026, arguing that the technology currently faces fewer safety rules than consumer goods like milk and washing machines. Speaking in a BBC interview, Smith proposed emergency brakes, independent testing, and legal incident reports.
Artificial intelligence is currently subject to fewer government safety rules than a carton of milk or a household washing machine, according to Microsoft President Brad Smith. In an interview published on October 11, 2026, for the BBC’s Big Boss Interview, Smith argued that the rapid expansion of AI power demands urgent international standards and government intervention.
Smith’s remarks place one of tech’s most powerful executives at odds with the self-regulation stance favored by President Trump, according to reporting by the BBC. While Smith indicated he would be willing to sign the White House accord, he stated that voluntary measures are no longer sufficient to manage the risks posed by advanced models.
Global Rules and Proposals from Microsoft
To prevent humans from losing control of increasingly powerful systems, Smith outlined a concrete framework of product-safety obligations. His proposals span international cooperation, technical safeguards, and legal accountability for developers and infrastructure providers.
The measures outlined by Smith and detailed across reporting by the BBC include:
- Independent safety evaluations by outside evaluators who must sign off on a product before its release.
- Emergency brakes, or kill switches, designed to pause or take systems offline if they get out of control.
- Legal incident reports requiring firms to disclose incidents and notify victims.
- International collaboration and monitoring to establish baseline safeguards.
Explaining the need for these controls, Smith pointed to the necessity of international cooperation and collaboration to introduce safeguards and monitoring. He noted that right now, artificial intelligence lacks the regulatory oversight applied to everyday household appliances.
Cybersecurity Risks and the Role of the UK
He noted that the UK is well-placed because of its AI Security Institute.
Additional reporting by ITV News on October 8, 2026, highlighted broader societal impacts, noting that six in ten people in the UK believe artificial intelligence will destroy more jobs than it creates. While Brad Smith expressed optimism that people will still be in work, he emphasized that a period of upheaval lies ahead and that governments will need to intervene to help people manage the transition.
While Microsoft’s president set out these policy positions, the interviews do not establish that these measures have been formally adopted by governments, required of all AI developers, or implemented as a new product policy. The proposals span company practice, infrastructure operations, and public regulation, signaling that model evaluation, incident reporting, and shutdown governance are becoming increasingly central to the wider policy conversation around deployed artificial intelligence.