On Monday, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk, called for “emergency action” to curb “pioneering” (highly advanced) artificial intelligence technologies, warning that this technology entails “unprecedented risks.”
“We are on the cusp of an irreversible change, the impact of which will not only be limited to us, but will extend to future generations of humanity,” Turk said in a statement, stressing the need to take “emergency action commensurate with the unprecedented risks posed by pioneering artificial intelligence.”
Turk expressed his regret, "Because we currently depend almost entirely on a few powerful companies to make the right decisions about developing artificial intelligence for the benefit of all humanity."
According to the High Commissioner, this technology threatens “all human rights,” including the rights to life, food, privacy, health and security.
American leaders in the technology sector took the initiative to call for slowing the pace of progress in this field.
For his part, the head of the Chinese intelligence service warned that artificial intelligence had become a direct threat to national security, accusing foreign intelligence services and “hostile forces” of using it to influence public opinion, collect sensitive data, and penetrate vital infrastructure in the country.
On September 7, Türk warned in a speech to the UN Human Rights Council that artificial intelligence could pose an “existential threat to humanity.”
In his statement on Monday, the High Commissioner considered that “leading companies in the development of artificial intelligence, specifically those based in the People’s Republic of China and the United States, bear the responsibility to move quickly to reduce these concerns, and at the same time have the ability to do so.”
He added, "The sector's move towards taking measures to regulate itself constitutes an urgent, necessary step, but it is not sufficient," calling on countries that host leading companies in the field of artificial intelligence to force these companies to act responsibly and amend their rules in a way that prevents the ongoing competition from mitigating the effects of regulatory controls.
He concluded his statement by saying, "No country alone is capable of regulating this technology. No company has the right to impose risks on the world and expect it to accept them."
US President Donald Trump on Monday denounced a "malicious conspiracy" targeting artificial intelligence, considering that the growing calls to impose controls on its development, amid warning of its potential dangers to humanity, are in China's interest.
While stressing the need for Washington to maintain leadership in this sector, Trump singled out Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei for criticism, after his initiative on Saturday to call for slowing down the development of artificial intelligence, in a move that was supported by prominent names in the sector.
Shares of major technology companies fell on Monday in light of these calls, which come amid fears that artificial intelligence models will get out of control and eventually cause a nuclear war and the annihilation of the human race.
Trump said in a post on his Truth Social platform, “The only control or safety barriers that artificial intelligence needs is a strong, intelligent president with a high IQ! And the United States of America has many of those!”
He added, "There is a malicious conspiracy being hatched against artificial intelligence and data centers, and China is the only party that benefits from this."
He continued, "Whoever wins the artificial intelligence race wins everything! We are superior to China and everyone else in this field, and we will remain so," addressing "conspiracy theorists, agents, traitors, and leakers, beware."
Trump drew comparisons with "all the other conspiracies," including the investigation into links between Russia and his election campaign and the impeachment proceedings against him over the pressure he exerted on Ukraine during his first term.
It is scheduled to enter the House of Representatives over the weekend and until after the midterm elections in early November. Some senior Democrats are calling for this recess to be postponed until guarantees regarding artificial intelligence are approved in the House.
Speaker Johnson, who on Monday faced a barrage of questions about artificial intelligence from reporters in the halls of Congress, gave no indication that he intended to act quickly this week.
When asked whether the House would take action on concerns about artificial intelligence before the start of the midterm recess, he replied: “This is a very complex issue.”
