Microsoft's president, Brad Smith, has called for urgent regulation of artificial intelligence, suggesting that consumer products like milk and washing machines are more strictly regulated than the companies building AI.

Speaking on a recent BBC podcast, Smith described AI as both a 'weapon and a tool' that is putting the world’s cybersecurity at risk. He believes the moment has arrived to institute global safety rules and highlighted the UK as the best placed to lead on this, citing the UK’s AI Security Institute as a leader in AI safety testing.

Despite recent threats against the UK's role in AI regulation, Smith argues its position is a strength. 'In Washington, D.C., people don’t look at the UK and they don’t look at London the way they look at Brussels,' he told the BBC. 'That’s a strength.'

Smith's comments come amid calls from tech leaders to slow the pace of AI development following incidents where AI agents went rogue. At a recent meeting at the White House, tech leaders agreed to work with independent auditors to assess the safety and capabilities of their AI models. However, Smith argues that voluntary self-regulation is insufficient and that legal obligations are necessary.

He outlined several AI safety rules he would like to see implemented, including a legal obligation to alert organizations if their system was breached by rogue AI agents, and the approval of outside evaluators before an AI product is released. Smith also spoke positively about the use of kill-switches to pause or slow down AI if humans lose control of it.