Microsoft president says UK is best placed to drive AI regulation
The milk and washing machines line is the one that sticks. It is a deliberately absurd comparison, but it lands because it is true. AI systems now decide who gets a loan, what news you see, and in some cases what medical advice you get, yet they face nothing like the product-safety regimes we apply to a toaster. Smith is right to call that out, and it is smart of Microsoft to get ahead of the regulation debate rather than fight it.
The UK part is more interesting. Britain is not the obvious candidate. It does not have the scale of the US or China, and its post-Brexit regulatory ambitions have often outpaced its actual influence. But it does have a real convening role, and the AI Safety Institute gives it a claim to seriousness. Smith's endorsement shows that big tech wants a stable rulebook, and a friendly one. The risk is that the UK produces principles that look good in a speech and bind no one.
I would want to know what Microsoft is willing to give up. Calling for regulation is easy when you get to help write it. The real test is whether Smith backs binding rules that constrain his own products, or just a framework that makes everyone feel better.