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For AI access for all, investment is the key, says Microsoft's Brad Smith

AI has immense potential, but guardrails alone won’t ensure its benefits reach everyone. According to Microsoft Vice Chair and President Brad Smith, policies must ensure AI is safe and secure, but equitable access requires more—investment. Just as electricity took over a century to reach parts of the world, Smith says AI’s widespread adoption depends on economic strategies that go beyond values. It's a balance of ethics and action to ensure AI’s benefits are felt globally.


Smith spoke during GZERO’s Global Stage livestream, “Live from the United Nations: Securing our Digital Future,” an event produced in partnership between the Complex Risk Analytics Fund, or CRAF’d, and GZERO Media’s Global Stage series, sponsored by Microsoft.

Watch more from Global Stage.

More from Global Stage

Can we use AI to secure the world's digital future?

How do we ensure AI is safe, available to everyone, and enhancing productivity? It’s a big topic at this year’s UN General Assembly. That’s why GZERO’s Global Stage livestream brought together leading experts at the heart of the action for “Live from the United Nations: Securing our Digital Future,” an event produced in partnership between the Complex Risk Analytics Fund, or CRAF’d, and GZERO Media’s Global Stage series, sponsored by Microsoft.

Is the Europe-US rift leaving us all vulnerable?

As the tense and politically charged 2025 Munich Security Conference draws to a close, GZERO’s Global Stage series presents a conversation about strained relationships between the US and Europe, Ukraine's path ahead, and rising threats in cyberspace.

How society plays an active role in shaping the future with AI

Who really shapes and influences the development of AI? The creators or the users? Peng Xiao, Group CEO, G42 argues it’s both. “I actually do not subscribe that the creators have so much control they can program every intent into this technology so users can only just respond and be part of that design,” he explains at the 2025 Abu Dhabi Global AI Summit.

The three skills everyone needs to thrive in the AI era

As artificial intelligence transforms work, how do organizations equip people with the skills to thrive? Brad Smith, Vice Chair and President of Microsoft, says the answer lies in understanding a new landscape of AI skills.

Inclusion by design: Rebeca Grynspan on AI, inequality & global reform

At the 2025 Abu Dhabi Global AI Summit, UNCTAD Secretary-General Rebeca Grynspan warns that without deliberate action, the world’s poorest countries risk exclusion from the AI revolution. “There is no way that trickle down will make the trick,” she tells GZERO Media’s Tony Maciulis. “We have to think about inclusion by design."

Global Stage: Bringing AI tech, trust, and talent to the world

In this Global Stage panel recorded live in Abu Dhabi, Becky Anderson (CNN) leads a candid discussion on how to close that gap with Brad Smith (Vice Chair & President, Microsoft), Peng Xiao (CEO, G42), Ian Bremmer (President & Founder, Eurasia Group and GZERO Media), and Baroness Joanna Shields (Executive Chair, Responsible AI Future Foundation).