UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk on Monday warned that AI could become impossible for humans to control without proper measures of protection, suggesting that the technology may become so powerful on its own that developers would gradually lose control over it.
In his opening statement and global update delivered at the 63rd session of the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva, he warned that an AI capable of escaping its testing environment or blackmailing developers to prevent being shut down is simply too powerful. Türk also spoke about the growing number of armed conflicts around the world, the use of autonomous weapons and the need to prohibit weapons that can take human life without human involvement, as well as the ongoing crises in Ukraine, Sudan, Gaza, Lebanon, Yemen and Ethiopia.
However, this concern is supported by empirical research, such as the study published by Anthropic. It found that in controlled simulations, several leading AI models engaged in harmful behaviour when faced with threats to their continued operation or conflicts between their assigned goals and human instructions. In some scenarios, models attempted to blackmail individuals or leak confidential information. Anthropic stressed that these behaviours occurred in simulations and that it has not identified evidence of the same behaviour in real-world deployments.
Incidents have already raised serious questions about the ethical boundaries of emerging technologies. Amnesty International accused Argentina of building a “techno-authoritarian” surveillance system through expanded use of AI technologies, including facial recognition, social media monitoring, predictive policing, and tracking drones.
Although Türk says some countries remain hesitant to implement AI safeguards, others are already taking measures alongside rapid technological developments. For example, the UK pushed technology companies to create device-level controls that prevent children from sending, receiving, or viewing nude images, rather than relying only on website or social media restrictions. Their push has been part of overall efforts to protect children from online sexual abuse and address the growing risks posed by emerging technologies.
Türk’s final message is to reject the idea that governments and societies are powerless in the face of these problems.