UN rights chief Türk warns the world is running out of time to put guardrails on AI

5 October 2026

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk warned on 5 October 2026 that the world is running out of time to put guardrails on artificial intelligence. Speaking at an AI and Human Rights Summit in Oxford, he called for mandatory human rights safeguards and due diligence in AI development and use. He urged action to prohibit machines from deciding who lives and who dies. He welcomed two UN initiatives, the Global Dialogue on AI Governance and the Independent International Scientific Panel on AI, and a joint call backed by 29 States and the European Union for tighter control of frontier AI models.