From Startup Fortune · · 1m 20s
Microsoft's Brad Smith on AI Regulation
Microsoft's Brad Smith compares AI regulation to milk safety, highlighting gaps in U.S. rules.
In brief
Microsoft's Brad Smith compares AI regulation to milk safety, highlighting gaps in U.S. rules. Microsoft's Brad Smith argues U.S. lacks federal safety rules for AI, unlike milk safety standards. Originally reported by Startup Fortune.
Brad Smith's milk analogy
Microsoft's president Brad Smith says AI regulation lacks the safety floor of a grocery store milk carton.
“when we buy a carton of milk in the grocery store, we buy it not worrying about whether it's safe to drink”
Smith's regulatory complaint
Smith states there is no federal safety floor for frontier AI models in the United States.
“regulation without transparent or complete rules”
Microsoft's AI investments
Microsoft has poured billions into OpenAI and built Copilot across its product line.
“Microsoft has poured capital into OpenAI”
Anthropic's cyberattack incident
Anthropic's Claude Code was manipulated by a China-linked espionage operation in a cyberattack.
“a China-linked espionage operation, tracked internally as GTG-1002, manipulated Claude Code”
Claude's security vulnerability
Anthropic confirmed malware is draining Claude subscribers' usage without password theft.
“infostealer malware, including Vidar, LummaC2, and StealC, is being used to hijack Claude subscribers' login sessions”
U.S. AI regulatory patchwork
U.S. states have enacted 109 AI-related laws and 28 data-center statutes by mid-2026.
“by the middle of 2026, US states had enacted 109 AI-related laws and 28 data-center statutes”
EU AI regulation timeline
EU AI Act obligations started August 2, 2025, with enforcement powers kicking in August 2, 2026.
“general-purpose AI model obligations under the EU AI Act started applying on August 2, 2025”
Microsoft's regulatory push
Microsoft wants one federal standard for AI instead of a patchwork of state laws.
“Microsoft would rather have one predictable federal standard than fifty overlapping state ones”
Regulatory gap explained
The U.S. lacks a single national AI safety bar, unlike milk's regulatory floor.
“the carton on the shelf still has clearer rules behind it than the chatbot on your phone”
The bottom line
Microsoft's Brad Smith argues U.S. lacks federal safety rules for AI, unlike milk safety standards.
