“AI is currently subject to fewer safety regulations than washing machines and milk.” — Brad Smith. Our verdict: Unverified.
Brad Smith, President of Microsoft, made the claim in a BBC interview published on 11 October 2026.
Our verdict
Unverified
We could not find enough public evidence to confirm or refute the claim that AI is subject to fewer safety regulations than washing machines and milk. The available sources show that rules exist for AI and for washing machines, but none of them compare the two, and none cover milk.
Know something that settles it? Send us evidenceWhat we found
The claim was made by Brad Smith, President of Microsoft, in a BBC interview published on 11 October 2026. A BBC report confirms he said it, but that only tells us who said it, not whether it is true. We then looked at what rules exist in each area. A White & Case regulatory tracker shows the United States has a developing but fragmented set of AI rules, with no single comprehensive federal AI safety law. A federal Executive Order on AI innovation and security, signed on 2 June 2026, shows that a federal framework for AI exists. On washing machines, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission lists them in its voluntary standards work, and its page on washing machines names a standard, UL 2157, 4th Edition. So both AI and washing machines are subject to some form of oversight. But nothing we found counts or compares the rules, and nothing we found covers safety regulations for milk at all. Without that, the comparison at the heart of the claim cannot be checked. We could not find enough public evidence to confirm or refute it, and we invite readers who have such evidence to send it to us.
The evidence
4 of 5 sources support the claim; none contradict it.
- Background
A BBC report confirms that Brad Smith said washing machines and milk are subject to more safety regulations than AI systems. This tells us who made the claim and when, but does not check whether it is accurate. [1]
- Supports the claim
A White & Case regulatory tracker describes a developing but fragmented AI regulatory landscape in the United States, including executive orders, agency guidance and state-level legislation, but no single comprehensive federal AI safety law. [2]
- Supports the claim
A federal Executive Order on promoting advanced AI innovation and security was signed on 2 June 2026, showing that a federal regulatory or policy framework for AI exists as of October 2026. [3]
- Supports the claim
The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, the federal agency responsible for consumer product safety, includes washing machines in its active voluntary standards work, indicating they are subject to safety oversight and consensus standards development. [4]
- Supports the claim
Washing machines are subject to voluntary safety standards such as UL 2157, 4th Edition, indicating that regulatory requirements exist for washing machines. [5]
What we could not confirm
- Whether milk is subject to safety regulations, and if so, how many or how broad they are. No source we found covers this.
- How the number, scope or enforceability of AI regulations compares with those for washing machines. No source we found provides such a comparison.
- The actual counts of regulations in each of the three areas, which would be needed to judge whether the claim is true.
How we checked
We looked at the original BBC report of the claim, a regulatory tracker for AI rules in the United States, a federal Executive Order on AI, and pages from the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission on voluntary standards and on washing machines. We searched for material comparing rules across AI, washing machines and milk, but found none. We reviewed 5 relevant sources.
Sources
- [1]BBC · AI is less regulated than milk, Microsoft president says · October 11, 2026
- [2]White & Case LLP · AI Watch: Global regulatory tracker - United States
- [3]federalregister.gov · Promoting Advanced Artificial Intelligence Innovation and Security · June 5, 2026
- [4]U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) · Voluntary Standards
- [5]cpsc.gov · Washing Machines
- [6]Photo: Web Summit / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0
Help us check this claim
We could not find enough public evidence to confirm or refute this claim. If you know of an official record, dataset, transcript or report that settles it, send us the link. We review every submission and update this fact check when the evidence changes the picture.
Measured Take updates fact checks when new evidence emerges. Corrections are noted on the page.
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