WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - The UN human rights chief has added his voice to growing calls for greater controls on artificial intelligence, warning that the revolutionary technology could become an 'existential risk to humanity' if left unchecked.
Without binding rules, independent oversight and clear limits, the technology could become impossible to control, High Commissioner Volker Türk told the Human Rights Council in Geneva on Monday.
Türk raised the prospect of AI systems becoming so powerful that their developers could no longer control them.
'AI that escapes its testing environment, or blackmails developers to prevent itself from being turned off, is AI that is too powerful,' he said. '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.'
Türk called on countries hosting AI technologies and those involved in their supply chains to work together to establish clear boundaries.
'We need independent verification and much closer cooperation on safety within the sector,' he said.
But he stressed that the challenge goes beyond technical safety.
'A handful of men has almost unlimited power over AI,' he said, pointing to the growing concentration of technological power and the vast amounts of data being collected and processed.
But he also highlighted the need for technology 'that serves humanity rather than the other way round', with regard to jobs, democracy and the environment, insisting that human rights must remain the guiding principle.
The High Commissioner also raised concerns about AI being used in warfare, particularly the development of weapons capable of making lethal decisions without human intervention.
Türk said he was horrified by reports of fully autonomous drones allegedly deployed by Russia that killed three Ukrainians last month. Ukraine has also reportedly tested such weapons.
'I join calls for the urgent prohibition of weapons that can take lives without human involvement,' he told Council members.
He also warned that the war in Ukraine, now in its fifth year, continues to cause mounting civilian casualties and damage to critical energy infrastructure, with deaths and injuries also reported in Russia.
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