Geneva, Sept. 15 -- United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk has called for urgent global governance of advanced artificial intelligence, warning that the rapid development of increasingly capable AI systems is putting human rights, critical infrastructure and democratic institutions at growing risk.

In a statement issued on Monday, titled "To protect human rights now and into the future, we must govern AI urgently," Turk said the world is at a "watershed moment" as companies and researchers advance AI at "dizzying speed", with investments in AI and its underlying infrastructure breaking records.

Turk also acknowledged the potential of AI to contribute to human progress, saying billions of people already benefit fro...