Agents are getting longer-running; oversight language is catching up. Kill switch; incident reporting with victim notify; independent pre-release evaluation; AISI cited as world-leading technical capability.
What Smith asked for
In the BBC Big Boss Interview, covered by IT Pro on 12 October, Microsoft vice chair and president Brad Smith said: "Right now, your washing machine is subject to more safety rules than AI." He called AI both a tool and a weapon, and said firms need kill switches for when things go wrong, plus a legal requirement to create incident reports and inform any victims.
He also called for new AI technology to be evaluated by independent government bodies, and said the UK is the country best placed to lead, citing the AI Security Institute. In the tech sector, he said, most people he knows would name the UK as the leader in that technical capability.
Why the UK, not Brussels
Smith said Washington does not look at London the way it looks at Brussels, and called that a strength. He urged the UK to speak calmly but firmly and start to bring people together. Microsoft chief executive Satya Nadella separately said a model provider's assurances do not relieve organisations of responsibility for what intelligence does on their behalf.
Coverage context
A Microsoft board-level call for UK-led kill switches, victim notification and independent pre-release checks now sits beside the UK minister's near-miss and cyber-defence announcements.
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