UN Issues Warning: Humanity's Fate Hangs in the Balance

Jakarta, CNBC Indonesia - The dangers of artificial intelligence (AI) have been highlighted by UN Human Rights Chief Volker Turk. He said the technology could threaten humanity and acknowledged the fears voiced by industry players.

“I share the concerns of industry actors that advanced AI could pose an existential risk to humankind,” Turk said, quoted by Reuters on Tuesday (8/9/2026).

He also urged efforts to mitigate the risks of AI, such as those affecting communication services and democratic systems.

“Today I am also calling for efforts to establish strong guarantees relating to AI safety and security, before it is too late,” he added.

However, Turk did not detail the specific risks that would arise from AI. Meanwhile, a spokesperson for his office said failures caused by AI systems could disrupt vital infrastructure and democratic institutions.

Turk also noted that only a handful of people hold almost unlimited power over AI, although he did not specify who he was referring to.

He stressed that the relevant parties must unite and agree on boundaries that must not be crossed in relation to AI.

“We need states where AI operates and those involved in the supply chain to unite in agreeing on boundaries that must not be crossed,” he said.

Last July, he referred to the conduct of dangerous agent training in the Hugging Face incident, when a group of OpenAI agents hacked the open-source platform.

Turk said the incident indicated that AI’s capabilities are developing faster than the mechanisms to secure it.