AI could pose 'existential' risk to humanity, UN rights chief warns
GENEVA: UN 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.
GENEVA: United Nations rights chief Volker Turk cautioned on Monday that artificial intelligence may evolve to a point where it poses a threat to human existence, and pledged to urge companies to mitigate such risks. Turk expressed shared concerns among industry insiders that advanced AI could pose an existential risk to humanity at the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva, in a comprehensive address ahead of his assumed role next month.
Turk issued a call for a concerted effort to establish robust guarantees regarding the safety and security of AI before it is too late. Although not naming them, Turk cautioned that a select few individuals wielded almost limitless control over AI. Key AI companies cited include Meta, Anthropic, OpenAI, and Google. Turk emphasized that at the very least, nations hosting AI and those involved in its supply chains must unite around mutually agreed upon limits.
Turk's remarks paralleled prior alarms raised by prominent artificial intelligence executives themselves about potential extinction risks from AI, such as OpenAI CEO Sam Altman. The United Nations has advocated for harmonized regulations to minimize risks and convened its inaugural global summit on governance in July.
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