AI could pose 'existential' risk to humanity, UN rights chief warns

U.N. ​rights chief Volker ​Turk warned on Monday that artificial intelligence ​could become powerful enough to threaten humanity, and said he would urge companies in the coming days to reduce ‌the ⁠risks.

“I share ⁠the concerns of industry insiders that advanced AI could ​pose an existential risk to humanity,” Turk told ​the U.N. Human Rights Council in Geneva in a sweeping speech ahead of the start of ​his second term next month.

“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.”


Without naming them, Turk warned that just a handful of men held “almost unlimited power over AI”. Top AI companies include Meta, Anthropic, OpenAI and Google.

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

Turk's ⁠remarks echoed prior warnings from top artificial intelligence executives themselves about extinction risks from AI, including OpenAI CEO Sam Altman. The United Nations has called for harmonised rules to reduce the risks and held its first global meeting on governance in July.