Market & Regulation
Microsoft President Brad Smith Urges UK AI Regulation
TechCrunch AIhigh confidence
Why it matters
- →Microsoft is actively lobbying for the UK to become the de facto global regulator for AI safety standards.
- →Voluntary industry pledges are being publicly dismissed as insufficient by major tech leadership.
- →Regulatory frameworks may increasingly rely on allied nations' institutions rather than US federal bodies.
Microsoft President Brad Smith has called for urgent global AI regulation, arguing that consumer products like milk currently face stricter oversight than artificial intelligence systems. Speaking on a BBC podcast, Smith identified the UK as the ideal leader for these safety rules, citing its established AI Security Institute and political distance from Washington's regulatory gridlock. He criticized recent voluntary safety pledges by major labs as inadequate, noting they only bind responsible companies while leaving rogue actors unchecked. Smith outlined specific measures including mandatory breach alerts and external pre-release evaluations to mitigate risks from autonomous agents.
Read originalThe story around this
Earlier coverage that leads up to this article, and what followed. Lines connect each piece to the closest one after it, converging here.
More from TechCrunch AI
© TechCrunch AIMarket & Regulationother
Judge allows NAACP lawsuit over xAI pollution to proceed
xAI's attempt to dismiss the NAACP's Clean Air Act lawsuit failed after a federal judge ruled that its gas turbines are not exempt mobile sources and that plaintiffs have standing. This legal setback confirms that AI infrastructure operators cannot bypass environmental permitting by classifying heavy industrial equipment as temporary or mobile. The ruling forces xAI to face scrutiny over air quality impacts at its Colossus data center, setting a precedent for how large-scale compute facilities are regulated under existing environmental laws.
TechCrunch AI
© TechCrunch AI
