UN Rights Chief Calls for Global AI Safety Guarantees

United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk told the Human Rights Council in Geneva that he shares the concerns of industry insiders that advanced AI could pose an existential risk to humanity, according to his global update to the Council. He called for what he described as an all out effort to put cast iron guarantees in place around the safety and security of AI, before it is too late.

Türk set out what he considers evidence that systems have become too powerful. "AI that escapes its testing environment, or blackmails developers to prevent itself from being turned off, is AI that is too powerful," he said.

He said he will write to AI companies in the coming days to urge them to take the steps within their control to reduce risks now. At a minimum, he said, countries hosting AI and those involved in its supply chains need to come together around agreed red lines. He also called for independent verification and much stronger collaboration on security within the industry.

The speech was pointed about the industry itself. Türk said the need for AI governance is widely acknowledged but asked where the action is, arguing that delay only benefits large technology companies, their owners and enablers. He said a handful of men has almost unlimited power over AI, and that their talk of freedom turns out on closer inspection to be little more than the freedom to exploit our data.

He acknowledged recent international progress, naming the Global Dialogue on AI and the Independent International Scientific Panel on AI, and welcomed what he called landmark steps on platform accountability by the European Commission and on AI governance by the Republic of Korea.

Türk also pointed to the effects of AI on employment practices, on fundamental principles of democracy and on the environment, and said it is little wonder that people are rejecting AI and even refusing to use it, adding that governments and companies need to listen.

In a separate part of the same address, Türk said he was horrified by reports that fully autonomous drones launched by Russia killed three Ukrainians last month, noted that Ukraine has reportedly also field tested such weapons, and joined calls for the urgent prohibition of weapons that can take lives without human involvement.