GENEVA: UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk has issued a stark warning over the rapid development of artificial intelligence, saying sufficiently advanced systems could eventually pose an “existential risk to humanity” if their development is not accompanied by effective safeguards.
Speaking before the UN Human Rights Council, Türk called for stronger international rules governing the development and use of increasingly powerful AI systems. He warned that governments and international institutions risk falling behind technological advances unless regulatory frameworks are developed more quickly.
Türk also expressed concern about the concentration of AI expertise, computing power and decision-making within a relatively small number of major technology companies. He argued that technologies capable of influencing employment, information, surveillance, political debate and individual rights should not be governed primarily by private commercial interests.
The warning comes amid growing international debate over how governments should regulate increasingly capable AI systems without restricting beneficial innovation. Supporters point to major potential advances in medicine, education, science and productivity, while researchers and policymakers have also raised concerns about misinformation, autonomous systems, discrimination, cybersecurity and the possibility of humans eventually losing effective control over highly advanced AI.
Türk urged greater international cooperation and accountability, arguing that human rights and public safety must remain central as artificial intelligence becomes increasingly embedded in everyday life.