Microsoft President Calls for Global AI Rules, Backs UK Leadership
Brad Smith says AI faces fewer regulations than milk and urges the UK to lead international rulemaking efforts.
Microsoft President Brad Smith has called for sweeping global regulation of artificial intelligence, arguing that the technology currently operates under fewer legal constraints than everyday consumer products such as milk. Smith's remarks underscore growing concern among major tech executives that AI development is outpacing the governance frameworks designed to manage it.
Smith singled out the United Kingdom as being in the "best position" to lead an international push for AI rules, a designation that reflects both the country's regulatory infrastructure and its role in hosting the recent AI Safety Summit. The endorsement places renewed pressure on British policymakers to take a more assertive stance in shaping how AI is governed across borders.
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The comparison to milk — a product subject to strict safety, labeling, and distribution standards — is a deliberate rhetorical move designed to highlight the relative absence of enforceable standards governing AI systems that are increasingly embedded in healthcare, finance, and critical infrastructure. Smith's framing suggests that the gap between technological capability and legal accountability has become difficult to ignore.
The call from a leading figure at one of the world's largest AI investors adds weight to arguments that voluntary industry commitments are insufficient. Governments and multilateral bodies have struggled to agree on binding frameworks, even as AI applications proliferate globally. Smith's comments represent one of the more pointed public appeals from inside the industry for external oversight rather than self-regulation.
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