The accelerated development of artificial intelligence (AI) poses risks to human rights, from privacy and health to security and access to essential services, warned UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk.

In a statement, Türk noted that the race to develop increasingly powerful AI systems may increase the risks associated with this technology.

“All human rights are at risk, including the rights to life, food, privacy, health and security ,” the official stated.

One of their main concerns was related to so-called agentic AI, capable of performing tasks and making decisions with a greater degree of autonomy than conventional systems.

According to Türk, failures in these systems could affect essential services, communications, critical infrastructure, and democratic institutions.

The high commissioner also warned that entire populations could temporarily lose access to services such as water, heating, or financial systems in the event of certain failures.

Türk added the use of AI in armed conflicts to these risks. He argued that this technology is already accelerating the pace of wars and expanding their reach.

He also noted that it could weaken existing safeguards against the use of weapons of mass destruction.

AI entrepreneurs also call for a slowdown

Türk’s warnings coincided with calls from some of the top leaders in the technology industry to develop advanced systems with greater security measures.

Dario Amodei, CEO of Anthropic; Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI; and Elon Musk expressed concerns about the risks associated with increasingly capable AI systems.

Researcher Jacob Coxon also garnered attention after leaving Anthropic. In a post on X, he expressed his concern that AI companies were taking risks related to people’s safety.

Coxon stated that uncontrolled development could lead to extreme consequences during this decade. However, these claims were not supported by any evidence in the cited material to substantiate this scenario.

Evan Hubinger, a researcher at Anthropic, publicly endorsed some of those concerns and estimated a probability of more than 10% that AI will cause human extinction during the next decade.

Researcher Gary Marcus called for a distinction between risks that can be documented and predictions that still belong to the realm of speculation.

Marcus noted that Coxon could provide information about what he observed within the industry, but felt it necessary to qualify other statements about possible future scenarios.

The discussion also drew criticism from David Sacks, former head of AI and cryptocurrencies for the US administration, who questioned the business reasons behind some calls to slow the pace of development.

Sacks argued that leading companies also face legal and commercial risks if their products allow cyberattacks or exhibit unpredictable behavior.

The UN calls for governing AI with human rights.

For Türk, the response to these risks requires governments and companies to participate in international oversight mechanisms.

The High Commissioner called for the use of multilateral forums to establish rules on artificial intelligence based on international law and human rights.

“No country can govern this technology on its own ,” Türk argued. He also stated that no company should individually decide what risks society can accept.

His proposal included a warning about the possibility that people might have to give up fundamental rights in order to access certain technological benefits.

Concern about the impact of AI also reached academic and educational spaces in Mexico.

During the third special session of Dialogues for Hope, a program produced by the Education and Culture Dimension of the Mexican Episcopal Conference, various specialists analyzed the social effects of technological transformation.

The meeting focused on caring for the individual in the face of changes associated with digitalization, artificial intelligence, and robotics.

Education, judgment and dignity in the face of AI

Sister Arcelia Hernández Elizondo, an official of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, spoke about a culture marked by immediacy and overstimulation.

As he explained, the encyclical analyzed during the meeting suggests that this dynamic can affect the search for truth and the ability to formulate questions.

Hernández proposed an “attention hygiene” based on silence, reflective study, and thoughtful reading.

Leonardo Curzio Gutiérrez, an academic at UNAM, warned about the effects of the concentration of economic, political, and technological power.

Former Secretary of Public Education Reyes Tamez Guerra argued that “all technology reflects the values ​​of those who design, finance, regulate, and use it.”

From an educational perspective, Enna Verónica Lara Gamboa, Director of Outreach at the Autonomous University of Campeche, pointed out that generative AI represents a challenge to judgment, reason, and creativity.

The rector emeritus of the Pontifical Catholic University of Peru, Carlos Garatea Grau, addressed another aspect: language.

The philologist warned that digital systems and AI may begin to influence the way people interpret the world and perceive themselves.

Francisco Ramírez Yáñez, rector of UNIVA and president of AMIESIC, questioned the idea that technology is neutral.

“The algorithm is programmed by people with cultural biases, economic interests, and objectives of control or profit ,” he stated.

Eduardo González Di Pierro, a researcher at the Institute of Philosophical Research of the UMSNH, raised the need for a “healthy realism” in the face of technology.

The philosopher pointed out that fear and euphoria can alter the perception of reality and proposed keeping open the possibility of building responses to technological changes.

Protecting humanity also involves discernment

Participants in the meeting also analyzed the relationship between AI, information, and democracy.

Tamez Guerra warned that the ability of a system to produce convincing arguments does not mean that those arguments are true.

Therefore, he called for maintaining intellectual humility and contrasting claims with evidence.

Garatea pointed out that the speed at which AI provides answers can change people’s relationship with information.

Curzio, for his part, argued that social networks and algorithms can affect the flow of information and the election of leaders.

From a philosophical perspective, González Di Pierro highlighted three criteria for discernment present in paragraph 199 of the encyclical: personal responsibility, the time of moral judgment, and the protection of civilians.

Father Carlos Sandoval Rangel, secretary of the Culture and Education Dimension of the Mexican Episcopal Conference, stated that decisions regarding science, technology, economics, and politics must consider human dignity.

“When we have this clearly understood, everything that comes in science, technology, economics, and politics must contribute to the dignified exercise of who we are,” he stated.

Warnings about AI from the UN, the technology industry, and academia all point to different risks, although not all predictions have the same level of evidence.

While Türk called for the establishment of international governance mechanisms, the participants in Dialogues for Hope proposed strengthening education, judgment, responsibility, and the protection of human dignity in the face of technological changes.

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Source: siete24.mx