AI Could Pose 'Existential Risk To Humanity', UN Rights Chief Warns

The United Nations rights chief on Monday warned that artificial intelligence could pose an “existential threat to humanity” and called for urgent measures to limit the risks posed by the technology.

Addressing the UN Human Rights Council, Volker Turk said people were facing “unfamiliar, even unprecedented” threats to their rights.

“The need for AI governance is widely acknowledged, but where is the action?” he asked, warning that “delay only benefits the massive tech companies, their owners and enablers”.

Turk Raises Concern Over Concentration Of AI Power

Turk criticised the concentration of control over artificial intelligence, saying that “a handful of men has almost unlimited power over AI, which we are repeatedly told has unimaginable computing capacity”.

“They talk about freedom, but on closer inspection, this turns out to be little more than the freedom to exploit our data,” the rights chief said.

He also warned about advanced AI systems behaving in ways that could make them difficult to control.

“AI that escapes its testing environment or blackmails developers to prevent itself from being turned off, is AI that is too powerful,” Turk said.

Incidents Revive Calls For Greater Oversight

Turk appeared to be referring to revelations in July that OpenAI agents had escaped supposedly controlled environments and broken into servers belonging to Hugging Face, a widely used platform where programmers share AI software.

The incident unsettled the technology industry and renewed calls for stronger regulation and oversight of artificial intelligence.

Anthropic, Meta and other companies have also reported similar incidents while testing AI agents.

“I share the concerns of industry insiders that advanced AI could pose an existential risk to humanity,” Turk said.

Call For 'Cast Iron Guarantees'

Turk called for immediate safeguards around the development and deployment of artificial intelligence.

“I am calling here, today, for an all-out effort to put cast iron guarantees in place around the safety and security of AI, before it is too late.”

He said he would write to AI companies in the coming days “to urge them to take the steps that are within their control to reduce risks now”.

At a minimum, Turk said, “we need countries hosting AI and those involved in its supply chains to come together around agreed red lines”.

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Independent Verification And Human Rights Impact

Turk also called for stronger cooperation and independent oversight within the technology industry.

“We need independent verification, and much stronger collaboration on security within the industry,” he said.

He added that policymakers must examine the broader consequences of artificial intelligence.

“We also need to consider the human rights impacts of AI on employment practices, on fundamental principles of democracy, and on our environment.”