Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella Warns AI Must Remain Under Human Control

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella issued an internal memo stating that AI development must remain strictly under human control and supported expanded third-party safety testing. He warned that technology companies must spend whatever time is necessary to ensure safety as risks rise, or they risk losing their social license to operate. Nadella's memo aligns Microsoft with leaders from Anthropic and OpenAI, demonstrating a growing industry consensus around slowing down AI deployment for external evaluation when necessary. It highlights a critical shift among top AI companies toward prioritizing alignment, safety guardrails, and responsible governance over pure deployment speed. Nadella outlined three focus areas: designing AI under human control for broad social benefit, helping enterprise customers retain ownership of their proprietary knowledge without provider lock-in, and ensuring infrastructure investments tangibly benefit local communities. Additionally, Microsoft published a 37-page draft humanistic AI code of conduct led by Microsoft AI head Mustafa Suleyman.