Microsoft AI has published a draft code of conduct for its future AI models, laying out an unusually explicit position on a question that is becoming harder for the industry to avoid: what should happen if AI systems become substantially more capable and autonomous than they are today?
The 38-page document is built around Microsoft AI's concept of “Humanist AI” and its longer-term ambition of developing what it calls “Humanist Superintelligence”. The central premise is that AI should remain subordinate to people, even as its capabilities advance.
But the document is not a claim that Microsoft has already solved that problem. In fact, Microsoft makes the opposite point. The code is not currently being used to train its models. It has been released for a six-week public consultation, with Microsoft planning to revise it before using it to guide model development from 2027.
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Drawing Boundaries Around Autonomy
The proposed framework would require MAI models to accept human interruption, correction and shutdown. Models would not be permitted to independently create goals or expand the scope of a task beyond what has been authorised. They would also be expected to make their actions understandable to human auditors.
Microsoft is also taking a clear position on AI personhood. The document says its models should not be designed to be people, imitate consciousness or claim feelings, intrinsic preferences or rights.
The safety constraints extend to areas including weapons, offensive cyber operations, large-scale manipulation and attempts by AI systems to evade human oversight.
Perhaps the most revealing section is the one acknowledging the limits of the exercise. Microsoft describes the code as a “north star”, rather than a guarantee of current model behaviour. It acknowledges that written objectives alone cannot ensure alignment and that models may behave differently in ambiguous or novel situations. The company says closing that gap will require continuing evaluation, testing and iteration.
It also highlights a broader tension in the AI industry. Microsoft says it is rejecting a race towards an unrestricted, all-purpose superintelligence if doing so would undermine human control — even if that requires compromising on some degree of capability, generality or autonomy.
The practical test will therefore not be how ambitious the code sounds, but whether those constraints survive when safety, capability, commercial incentives and competitive pressure pull in different directions.
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