"Extremely concerned": UN official warns Silicon Valley execs of AI dangers

Volker Türk, the UN's high commissioner for human rights, was in Silicon Valley last week to deliver a simple message to tech companies: Your products can do real harm and it's your job to make sure that they don't. Technologies like artificial intelligence hold enormous potential for addressing a range of societal ills, but without effort and intent, these same technologies can act as powerful weapons of oppression, said Türk. New regulations are often where the tech debate lands, but Türk tells Axios that the firms should already be ensuring their products comply with the existing UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights. That UN document, unanimously approved in 2011, states that "business enterprises have the responsibility to respect human rights wherever they operate and whatever their size or industry."