The gallon of milk at your local convenience store is more heavily regulated than AI, according to Microsoft President Brad Smith.

In an interview with the BBC published Monday, Smith called for stronger global safety rules for AI. Specifically, he said companies should be legally required to notify victims when their systems are breached by rogue AI agents and report safety incidents. He also called for rules determining when independent evaluators should review new AI models before their release, along with “emergency brakes” or kill switches to stop systems that go rogue.

That last point was also echoed by Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, who wrote in a post on X on Saturday that AI models should have emergency brakes allowing humans to pause or shut them down in the middle of a task.

“We know how to do this for other products,” Smith told the BBC. “We should build on that knowledge and think about how to apply it to AI.”

He even compared the lack of AI-specific safety rules to those that cover everyday products that don’t seem nearly as threatening.

“Right now, your washing machine is subject to more safety rules than AI. Every carton of milk that you see in the grocery store is subject to safety rules and inspection,” Smith said.

Smith’s calls for tougher regulations come as some AI industry insiders reportedly believe a major AI-related catastrophe could occur within the next six to 12 months, according to Axios.

Whether it’s AI going rogue or hackers using the technology to carry out an attack, the companies behind the tech expect to shoulder much of the blame if something goes wrong, and are reportedly already making plans to deal with the fallout if that’s the case.

Source link