UN Rights Chief Calls for Moratorium on Artificial Intelligence Systems

GENEVA - The U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights, Michelle Bachelet, is calling for a moratorium on the sale and use of artificial intelligence systems, which she says pose a serious risk to human rights. 

The High Commissioner's report, which will be submitted to the U.N. human rights council, provides an analysis of how advances in digital technologies are affecting people's human rights.   

The report argues that artificial intelligence, or AI, can be a force for good, but also can be overly intrusive and have negative, even catastrophic, effects on people's right to privacy and other human rights. 

Peggy Hicks, director of thematic engagement at the U.N. Human Rights Office, says AI systems can be faulty and have embedded biases. These, she says, can lead to discrimination that might jeopardize job prospects or welfare and social security benefits.