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Microsoft president Brad Smith has called for urgent, enforceable AI safety rules and said the UK is better positioned than the US or EU to help lead them. He praised a recent industry pledge as a step forward but argued voluntary commitments cannot replace regulation.
Microsoft president Brad Smith has called for urgent rules governing artificial intelligence and said the UK is best placed to help lead global safety regulation, arguing that voluntary pledges by technology companies do not go far enough. In a BBC podcast, Smith described AI as both a “weapon and a tool” and warned that its risks, including to cybersecurity, call for formal safeguards.
Smith argued that everyday consumer products such as milk and washing machines face more oversight than companies developing AI. He said the “moment has arrived” for global safety rules, and made the case that Britain could lead where Washington or Brussels might be less effective. “In Washington, D.C., people don’t look at the U.K. and they don’t look at London the way they look at Brussels,” he told the BBC. “That’s a strength.”
The UK’s position is linked in part to the AI Security Institute (AISI), launched in 2023. The source report says the institute receives access to major models from US frontier AI labs before deployment and has become a prominent centre for safety testing. AISI said Monday it could access and test the latest models, after reports that US President Donald Trump had asked Anthropic and OpenAI to withhold new models from British testers.
Smith also discussed safeguards he would like to see, including a legal duty to report breaches involving rogue AI agents, outside evaluation of systems before release, and mechanisms to pause or slow AI if people lose control of it. He described a recent White House agreement with technology firms to work with independent auditors as a “good step,” while saying it falls short of regulation.
From Industry Pledges to Enforceable Rules
Smith’s intervention matters because it places a senior executive from a major AI company behind government-backed safety requirements, rather than relying only on companies to set and police their own standards. His argument is that voluntary measures may be followed by responsible firms but cannot reliably constrain less responsible developers.
For the UK, the comments reinforce the importance of its role in testing advanced models and shape a debate over who should set international expectations. If other governments and companies accept the approach Smith describes, rules on independent testing, incident reporting and emergency controls could affect how AI products are assessed and released. His remarks are a call for policy action, not evidence that such rules have been adopted.
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Why Smith Points to Britain
The AISI’s access to frontier models gives it a role in evaluating systems before public release, according to the report. That capacity has become politically sensitive amid disagreement over whether US companies should share access with British evaluators. AISI’s Monday statement that it could test the latest models indicates that access remained available at that point; it does not settle how access will be handled in future.
Smith’s comments also follow renewed public calls from technology leaders, including Anthropic chief executive Dario Amodei and OpenAI chief executive Sam Altman, to slow AI development after incidents involving AI agents behaving unexpectedly. The report says Trump hosted leaders from OpenAI, Anthropic, Nvidia, AMD, SpaceX, Meta and Google at the White House last month. Participants signed a document described as “morally binding,” agreeing to work with independent auditors to assess models’ safety and capabilities.
Smith welcomed that agreement but drew a distinction between cooperation promised by companies and rules required by law. His comments were framed as a case for bringing governments and industry together, rather than a detailed proposal for a single regulatory system.
“AI is both a “weapon and a tool.””
— Brad Smith, Microsoft president, speaking to the BBC
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Access and Rules Remain Unsettled
No new UK or international regulation was announced alongside Smith’s comments. The source report does not specify which governments would negotiate global rules, what legal framework they might use, or when any requirements could take effect. His proposed safeguards are recommendations, not confirmed policy.
The report also does not provide details of the alleged request by Trump to Anthropic and OpenAI to withhold models from UK testers, including the companies’ responses or the precise scope of any request. AISI’s statement that it could test the latest models offers a status update, but it does not guarantee continued access. Nor is it clear how independent auditors would be selected, what powers they would have, or whether the White House agreement will lead to binding obligations.
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Whether Calls Become Policy
The next developments to watch are whether UK officials pursue formal safety requirements, whether the AISI retains access to new models, and whether companies fulfil their White House commitment to work with independent auditors. The source report does not identify a legislative timetable or a scheduled international process.
Smith urged leaders to bring governments and companies together, saying: “Let’s speak calmly, maybe even softly, but firmly, and start to bring people together.” For now, his intervention adds pressure to an ongoing debate, but the practical outcome will depend on decisions by governments, model developers and evaluators.
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Key Questions
What is Brad Smith calling for?
Smith is calling for formal, global AI safety rules, including breach reporting, independent evaluation before release and ways to pause systems if people lose control of them.
Why does Smith think the UK can lead?
He points to the UK’s AI Security Institute and its access to major AI models for testing. He also argues that Washington views London differently from Brussels, which he sees as an advantage for UK leadership.
Has the UK introduced the rules Smith proposed?
No such rules were announced in the report. Smith’s comments are a call for regulation, and the safeguards he described remain proposals rather than confirmed policy.
What did technology companies agree to at the White House?
According to the report, companies signed a document described as “morally binding” and agreed to work with independent auditors to assess AI models’ safety and capabilities. Smith called it a good step but said it was not a substitute for regulation.
Source: rss
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