The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights called on Monday for “urgent action” to regulate artificial intelligence (AI), in the face of the “unprecedented risks” posed by the most advanced systems.
“I call on States and companies to mobilize urgently within the framework of multilateral bodies to define a path of action aimed at regulating cutting-edge AI models,” said Volker Türk in an open letter sent to States and companies in the sector.
“We are at the dawn of an irreversible change which concerns not only us, but also future generations of humanity”
The UN High Commissioner lamented that currently “we are almost entirely dependent on a small number of powerful companies to make the right choices in developing AI for all of humanity.”
Concerns are growing about the consequences of the rapid development of AI on the future of humanity. According to the High Commissioner, “all human rights are threatened” by this technology, including the rights to life and food, privacy, health and security.
American bosses in the technology sector have themselves called for a slowdown in progress in the field. On Saturday, the boss of Anthropic, Dario Amodei, spoke in favor of a deceleration, in order to better understand the risks arising from the new capabilities of AI. He was publicly supported by his OpenAI counterpart, Sam Altman, as well as Elon Musk.
Donald Trump and several figures from his camp said on Sunday they were opposed to a slowdown in AI, which has become one of the key topics of the mid-term legislative campaign in the United States.
“Safeguards”
According to the High Commissioner, “the current race towards ever more powerful AI marks a radical shift, exposing all aspects of our lives to increased existential risks.”
“Faults involving agentic AI systems”, interfaces capable of performing tasks autonomously, “could paralyze essential services, interrupt communications, destabilize critical infrastructures and undermine the very heart of democratic institutions,” warned Volker Türk.
“Entire populations could find themselves deprived of drinking water, heating and financial services. Agentic AI is already accelerating the pace and scale of armed conflict, while eroding the safeguards that separate us from the launch of weapons of mass destruction,” he warned.
China’s intelligence chief also warned on Sunday that AI could threaten national security, with foreign powers potentially using the technology to destabilize the country.
Sector self-regulation not sufficient
Volker Türk had already warned, on September 7 before the UN Human Rights Council, that AI could constitute an “existential risk for humanity”. Companies at the forefront of AI development, “primarily located in the People’s Republic of China and the United States, have both the responsibility and the ability to act without delay to reduce risks,” he asked Monday.
“Self-regulation of the sector is an urgent first step, but it is far from sufficient on its own,” he said, stressing that the small number of states that welcome AI leaders must force them to act responsibly and harmonize their rules to avoid competition pushing to relax regulations.
And to conclude: “No country can regulate this technology alone. No company should be able to decide alone what risks the world should accept.”
China: intelligence boss warns of the dangers of AI
China’s intelligence chief said artificial intelligence could threaten national security, with foreign powers potentially using the technology to destabilize the country.
“Hostile forces” are exploiting generative AI technologies to “manufacture political rumors and spread harmful information,” State Security Minister Chen Yixin wrote in an online post on Sunday. “They are waging public opinion wars and cognitive wars against us, directly threatening our political security, our institutional security and our ideological security,” he emphasizes.
These comments come a few days before a planned meeting between Chinese President Xi Jinping and his American counterpart Donald Trump in Washington. AI governance should be on the agenda, amid growing calls for supervision of this technology.
