Microsoft AI Chief Suleyman: China's Progress Shouldn't Justify Opposing Safeguards

Mustafa Suleyman, Microsoft's head of AI, said on CNN's Fareed Zakaria GPS that concerns over China's AI progress should not be used as a reason to oppose AI safeguards.

Suleyman argued that AI developers should set goals for models that are "constrained by humanist principles." He said every developer should give AI systems limiting goals with clear safeguards. He added that regulation should not be seen as a "bad thing" but as a way to "create shared norms and standards to improve safety," and that it would not necessarily slow things down.

His remarks contrast with U.S. President Donald Trump's stance, who has called for largely unconstrained AI development and dismissed worries about catastrophic risks from uncontrolled AI as a hoax. Suleyman's Microsoft AI team published a manifesto last Tuesday outlining guidance for its own AI development, aiming to keep humans in control of future AI systems.