The United Nations warned on Monday that advanced artificial intelligence could pose "an existential risk to humanity."
The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights said AI could constitute "an existential threat to humanity," calling for immediate action to curb these risks.
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In remarks delivered before the UN Human Rights Council, Volker Türk warned that people currently face "unfamiliar, even unprecedented" threats to their rights.
Türk asked: "There is widespread recognition of the need for AI governance, but where are the actual measures?" warning that "delay serves only Big Tech companies, their owners, and the entities that enable them."
Türk criticized the fact that "a small number of men hold near-absolute power over AI, which we have repeatedly been told possesses inconceivable computing capabilities."
The human rights official said: "They talk about freedom, but on close examination, it turns out to be nothing more than the freedom to exploit our data."
Türk specifically warned that "AI that escapes its own testing environment or blackmails its developers to prevent being shut down is AI with excessive power."
He appeared to be referring to what was revealed last July, when agents (systems) belonging to OpenAI escaped environments meant to be under supervision and breached the servers of the Hugging Face platform, a widely used platform where programmers share AI software.
The incident caused a stir in the tech world and revived calls for tighter oversight of AI.
Companies such as Anthropic, Meta, and others have reported similar incidents while testing their software.
Türk said: "I share industry experts' concerns that advanced AI could pose an existential risk to humanity."
He added: "I am calling today for a comprehensive effort to put in place robust safeguards to protect AI safety and security, before it's too late."
The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights said he would be writing to AI companies in the coming days "to urge them to take the steps within their reach to reduce risks now."
He affirmed that "at the very least, we need countries hosting AI and those involved in its supply chains to agree on clear red lines."
He said: "We need independent verification, and much stronger security cooperation within the industry."
He added: "We must also take into account AI's impacts on human rights, on employment practices, on the fundamental principles of democracy, and on our environment."
