He said major companies and fast-moving technologies are creating new challenges for tackling rights abuses – and that governments and businesses need to step up.

Opening the 14th UN Forum on Business and Human Rights in Geneva on Monday, he said that corporate power has become increasingly influential in terms of social change.

“When powerful tech giants introduce new technologies, such as generative artificial intelligence, human rights can be the first casualty,” he said. “Generative AI holds tremendous promise, but its exploitation for purely political or economic benefit can manipulate, distort and distract.”

He stressed that rules, safeguards and independent oversight must keep pace with innovation.

Concerns over worker exploitation

Türk also highlighted the struggles facing workers across many sectors. Migrant workers, women and people in informal jobs, remain among the most exposed to abuse.

He noted that some governments are rolling back laws that require companies to respect human rights in their operations, calling the trend “worrying” and urging States to reverse course.

He said attacks on human rights defenders who document corporate abuses are unacceptable and must end.