Microsoft CEO: AI needs ‘guardrails’ after fake explicit images of Taylor Swift go viral

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella called for more “guardrails” on artificial intelligence (AI) and technology after explicit, AI-generated images of Taylor Swift went viral.

In an exclusive interview with NBC News’ Lester Holt, Nadella argued that it’s “our responsibility” to manage the emerging technology.

“I’d say two things. One is again, I go back to I think … what is our responsibility? Which is all of the guardrails that we need to place around the technology so that there’s more safe content that’s being produced and there’s a lot to be done there and not being done there,” he said in the interview that will air in full Tuesday on NBC Nightly News.

“But it is about global, societal … convergence on certain norms … especially when you have law and law enforcement and tech platforms that can come together, Nadella continued. “I think we can govern a lot more than we think we give ourselves credit for.”

The CEO’s comments come just after explicit AI-generated images of Swift went viral on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter.

Her supporters, known as “Swifties,” were reporting the photos and flooding hashtags with more positive images of the singer, The Associated Press reported.

The Biden administration called the circulation of the images “alarming” and urged social media companies to examine the “important role” they play in enforcing rules to stop the spread of misinformation and non-consensual and intimate imagery.

In October, President Biden signed a sweeping executive order on AI that is focused on managing the emerging technology and its risks.

Rep. Yvette Clarke (D-N.Y.) also called for action from both the Democratic and Republican Parties to solve the issue of women continually being the targets of deepfakes without their consent.