联合国人权事务主管：AI可能对人类构成'存在性风险'

September 7, 2026 AI could pose 'existential risk to humanity': UN rights chief edited by Andrew Zinin Andrew Zinin Chief Editor Meet our editorial team Behind our editorial process Editors' notes This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies. Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility: fact-checked reputable news agency proofread The GIST Add as preferred source Credit: cottonbro studio from Pexels The United Nations rights chief warned Monday that artificial intelligence could pose an "existential threat to humanity," demanding immediate action to reduce the risks. Speaking before the U.N. Human Rights Council, Volker Turk warned that humans currently faced "unfamiliar, even unprecedented" threats to their rights. "The need for AI governance is widely acknowledged, but where is the action?" he asked, warning that "delay only benefits the massive tech companies, their owners and enablers." Turk decried that "a handful of men has almost unlimited power over AI, which we are repeatedly told has unimaginable computing capacity." "They talk about freedom, but on closer inspection, this turns out to be little more than the freedom to exploit our data," the rights chief said. Turk warned in particular that "AI that escapes its testing environment or blackmails developers to prevent itself from being turned off, is AI that is too powerful." He appeared to be alluding to revelations in July that OpenAI agents had escaped supposedly controlled environments and had broken into Hugging Face servers, a widely used platform where programmers share AI software. That episode shook the tech world and revived calls for tighter regulation and oversight of AI. Anthropic, Meta and other companies have reported similar incidents while testing agents. "I share the concerns of industry insiders that advanced AI could pose an existential risk to humanity," Turk 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." The U.N. rights chief said he would be writing to AI companies in coming days "to urge them to take the steps that are within their control to reduce risks now." At a minimum, he said, "we need countries hosting AI and those involved in its supply chains to come together around agreed red lines." "We need independent verification, and much stronger collaboration on security within the industry," he said. "We also need to consider the human rights impacts of AI on employment practices, on fundamental principles of democracy, and on our environment." Key concepts AI governance Who's behind this story? Andrew Zinin Master's in physics with research experience. Long-time science news enthusiast. Plays key role in Science X's editorial success. Full profile → © 2026 AFP Citation: AI could pose 'existential risk to humanity': UN rights chief (2026, September 7) retrieved 8 September 2026 from https://techxplore.com/news/2026-09-ai-pose-existential-humanity-rights.html This document is subject to copyright. Apart from any fair dealing for the purpose of private study or research, no part may be reproduced without the written permission. The content is provided for information purposes only. UN rights chief warns over generative AI Nov 24, 2025 Humanity in 'race against time' on AI: UN May 30, 2024 Don't let AI shape humanity's future: UN chief Jul 6, 2026 AI development cannot be left to market whim, UN experts warn Sep 19, 2024 Scientists urge global AI 'red lines' as leaders gather at UN Sep 23, 2025 World leaders still need to wake up to AI risks, say leading experts ahead of AI Safety Summit May 20, 2024 Memristor chip breaks the capacity limit of brain-inspired associative memory 6 hours ago Invention may bring smart bionic eye into sight 5 hours ago Whole-body expansion and contraction make a robot seem more alive 7 hours ago A tiny crystal tilt may bring greener magnetic memory closer to everyday devices 7 hours ago Tracking energy flow reveals voltage pattern that slashes waste heat by over 60% 9 hours ago Editorial proposes limits on generative AI's role in scientific research 13 hours ago