UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk on Monday warned that AI could become impossible for humans to control without proper protective measures, suggesting that the technology may become so powerful that developers would be outpaced by their own creation.

In his opening statement to a global update delivered at the 63rd session of the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva, Türk warned that an AI program capable of escaping its testing environment or blackmailing developers to prevent being shut down is simply too powerful. Türk also noted 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, mentioning the ongoing crises in Ukraine, Sudan, Gaza, Lebanon, Yemen and Ethiopia.

This concern is supported by recent research, such as the study published by Anthropic in June. It found that in controlled simulations, several leading AI models engaged in harmful behavior 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 noted that these behaviors occurred in simulations and that it had not identified evidence of the same behavior in real-world deployments.

However, real circumstances 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 taking measures in response to 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. This push is part of an overall effort to protect children from online sexual abuse and address the growing risks posed by emerging technologies.

Türk’s final message was to reject the idea that governments and societies are powerless in the face of these threats.