UN human rights chief calls for 'guardrails' in AI development, expresses concern about North Korea

United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk stressed the need for human rights to serve as the "DNA" of AI development during a press conference in Seoul on Wednesday.

Citing Korea’s recent enforcement of a new AI development law that seeks to protect the rights, interests and dignity of the people and also strengthen national competitiveness, he explained that human rights are an “important inspiration and guide” for the use of AI and related technologies.

“For example, when it comes to child safety […] whoever develops tools should make sure that they are not becoming addictive for children or that they are not ending up with harmful content such as child pornography or trafficking of children,” Turk said.

“There needs to be guardrails in the system’s development that guarantee this.”

Turk, in the middle of a three-day visit to Seoul since Tuesday, is scheduled to meet with government officials, business leaders, civic activists and North Korean defectors to discuss human rights issues, especially in North Korea.

This marks the first official visit to South Korea by a UN human rights chief in 11 years, since then-high commissioner Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein visited in 2015.

“I am particularly worried about the extreme prioritization of security and military investments at the expense of desperately needed social services and sustainable development in [North Korea],” Turk said. “It is clear that there needs to be accountability in all its forms, including nonjudicial forms, for the grave violations that have plagued [North Korea] for decades.”  

He added that his office is working to engage actively with North Korean officials whenever the opportunity arises.

Turk described the North Korean women’s football team visiting South Korea next week for the semifinals against South Korea’s Suwon FC as “encouraging,” but emphasized that “urgent steps are needed to find ways to exchange letters, resume family contacts and reunions and release information clarifying the whereabouts and fate of disappeared and abducted people.”

Earlier in the day, he privately met with Unification Minister Chung Dong-young and Foreign Affairs Minister Cho Hyun. He then sat down with Prime Minister Kim Min-seok to discuss cooperation between South Korea and the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, including the establishment of a “global AI hub” to foster discussion on AI-related ethics, standards and technology.

When asked whether he is aware of criticism that Seoul is attempting to sideline human rights issues in Pyongyang to increase the possibility of bilateral engagement, Turk replied that there should be “no paradox.”

“I think that’s a very important message from my side, that engagement cannot come at the expense of human rights,” he said. “They have to go together.”

On Thursday, Turk is set to visit the May 18th National Cemetery, the burial site of those who died during the 1980 pro-democracy uprising in Gwangju, and deliver a keynote speech at the World Human Rights Cities Forum. He will depart for Japan on Friday.

“We must never forget their sacrifice and that of so many others around the world who continue to pay the ultimate price in advocating for a better, fairer, more just world for us all,” he said.

BY SHIN MIN-HEE [shin.minhee@joongang.co.kr]