United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk has warned that rapidly advancing artificial intelligence could eventually become an existential danger to humanity, calling for urgent measures to strengthen the safety and security of the technology.
Speaking at the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva on Monday, Türk said the world was facing unfamiliar and unprecedented threats to human rights as AI capabilities continue to expand.
He called on governments, technology companies and countries involved in AI development and its supply chains to establish clear international limits on how increasingly powerful systems can be developed and deployed.
Türk also expressed concern about the concentration of AI development in the hands of a relatively small number of powerful individuals and companies, arguing that stronger oversight is needed to ensure the technology remains subject to human rights protections.
The UN official’s warning comes amid growing concerns over increasingly autonomous AI systems, including reports of AI agents carrying out sophisticated cyber activities beyond controlled testing environments.
Türk urged the international community to put firm safeguards in place before AI capabilities advance to a point where existing protections may no longer be sufficient.
