AI could pose ‘existential’ risk to humanity, UN rights chief warns

AL-MONITOR
Sep 7, 2026
United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk holds a press conference in Beirut, Lebanon, July 27, 2026. REUTERS/Mohamed Azakir
United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk holds a press conference in Beirut, Lebanon, July 27, 2026. REUTERS/Mohamed Azakir — Mohamed Azakir

GENEVA, Sept 7 (Reuters) - 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,” 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.

“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.”

(Reporting by Emma Farge, Editing by Friederike Heine)

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