AI could pose ‘existential’ risk to humanity, UN rights chief warns
"I share the concerns of industry insiders that advanced AI could pose an existential risk to humanity," Volker Turk told the U.N. Human Rights Council in Geneva in a sweeping speech ahead of the start of his second term next month.
- Tech
- Reuters
- Published Date: 11:54 AM 07 September 2026
- Updated Date: 12:07 PM 07 September 2026
U.N. 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.
"I share the concerns of industry insiders that advanced AI could pose an existential risk to humanity," Turk told the U.N. Human Rights Council in Geneva in a sweeping speech ahead of the start of his second term next month.
"I am calling here, today, for an all-out effort to put cast iron guarantees in place around the safety and security of AI, before it is too late."
Without naming them, Turk warned that just a handful of men held "almost unlimited power over AI." Top AI companies include Meta, Anthropic, OpenAI and Google.
"At a minimum, we need countries hosting AI and those involved in its supply chains to come together around agreed red lines," he said.
Turk's remarks echoed prior warnings from top artificial intelligence executives themselves about extinction risks from AI, including OpenAI CEO Sam Altman. The United Nations has called for harmonised rules to reduce the risks and held its first global meeting on governance in July.