AI Leaders and UN Warn of Existential Risks and Call for Global Governance

Executives from leading AI companies and United Nations officials are calling for a slowdown in the development of artificial intelligence to prevent potential global catastrophes. Dario Amodei, CEO of Anthropic, and Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, have both advocated for moderating the pace of AI advancement to ensure safety and allow society to adapt to new capabilities. Amodei specifically warned that AI could dominate the internet within 6 to 12 months if left uncontrolled, while also citing risks of cyberattacks and bioterrorism. UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk warned that advanced AI represents an existential risk to humanity, potentially threatening essential services like water and heating, as well as weakening safeguards against weapons of mass destruction. Turk emphasized that no single country or company should decide the risks the world accepts and urged for governance based on international law. Former industry insiders have expressed more dire predictions. Jacob Coxon, a former researcher at OpenAI and Anthropic, accused companies of gambling with human lives, while Evan Hubinger of Anthropic estimated a more than 10 percent chance that AI could kill humans within the next decade. Another former OpenAI researcher, Daniel Kokotajlo, suggested a 70 percent chance of global catastrophe if development continues unchecked. Center-left sources focus heavily on the specific warnings of individual experts and the potential for AI to kill humans. Center-right sources frame the issue more broadly as a need for international regulatory frameworks and a warning against the erosion of human rights and democratic institutions.