Originally published in Tech Policy Press on March 24, 2025
The companies developing so-called artificial general intelligence (AGI) and their backers have been making two big promises: this new technology will yield huge financial returns and solve all of the world’s problems. Both claims should be viewed with skepticism, especially by investors.
Open MIC and ICCR recently collaborated to release “Dehumanization, Discrimination and Deskilling: The Impact of Digital Tech on Low-Wage Workers.” The investor brief explores how surveillance tech, algorithmic management systems, displacement by AI and automated hiring tools contribute to increased workplace discrimination, diminished autonomy, and reduced job quality.
Encouraged by strong votes at AI companies, as well as Microsoft’s inaugural Responsible AI Transparency Report, Open MIC and partners seek to build momentum for more disclosure and remediation of AI risks.
Investors in Meta Inc. and Alphabet Inc. used votes at their recent annual meetings to highlight serious concerns about the deployment of generative artificial intelligence (gAI) technology and its potential to generate harmful disinformation and misinformation. A shareholder proposal at Meta won 56.3% of the independent shareholder vote, while a similar proposal at Alphabet won 45.7% of the independent shareholder vote.
At Meta’s annual meeting last week, a majority of independent shareholders (53.6%), representing $635 billion in market cap, voted in favor of a proposition demanding more disclosure of the costs and risks associated with the development and deployment of generative AI products. Alphabet shareholders will vote on a similar resolution this Friday.
Originally published in Tech Policy Press on March 24, 2025
The companies developing so-called artificial general intelligence (AGI) and their backers have been making two big promises: this new technology will yield huge financial returns and solve all of the world’s problems. Both claims should be viewed with skepticism, especially by investors.
Open MIC and ICCR recently collaborated to release “Dehumanization, Discrimination and Deskilling: The Impact of Digital Tech on Low-Wage Workers.” The investor brief explores how surveillance tech, algorithmic management systems, displacement by AI and automated hiring tools contribute to increased workplace discrimination, diminished autonomy, and reduced job quality.
Investors in Meta Inc. and Alphabet Inc. used votes at their recent annual meetings to highlight serious concerns about the deployment of generative artificial intelligence (gAI) technology and its potential to generate harmful disinformation and misinformation. A shareholder proposal at Meta won 56.3% of the independent shareholder vote, while a similar proposal at Alphabet won 45.7% of the independent shareholder vote.
At Meta’s annual meeting last week, a majority of independent shareholders (53.6%), representing $635 billion in market cap, voted in favor of a proposition demanding more disclosure of the costs and risks associated with the development and deployment of generative AI products. Alphabet shareholders will vote on a similar resolution this Friday.
Over the next two weeks, shareholders at Meta and Alphabet will vote on first-time resolutions calling for more disclosure on the costs and risks of generative AI to the company and society, and on how the companies are mitigating those risks. To date, neither company reports on how well it adheres to the promises it makes with regard to AI, a trend with a long precedent in the social media era.
In response to Alphabet’s recommendation to vote “against” the proposal, Open MIC filed an exempt solicitation letter with the SEC, again making the case for increased transparency and active risk mitigation to prevent widespread harms due to misinformation and disinformation resulting from generative AI products.
The rise of generative AI (gAI) over the last 18 months has raised numerous questions about how to regulate these powerful new technologies so that they do not compromise people’s ability to exercise their human rights. Generative AI poses a particular threat to the right to freedom of expression, including the right to access information, because it makes it so easy to create and spread deceptive, yet believable content. False content threatens people’s ability to make informed decisions, a prerequisite for healthy democracies.
Shareholders at Alphabet and Meta, following on the success of a similar resolution at Microsoft last month, have filed shareholder proposals recommending that the companies issue annual reports on the risks of misinformation and disinformation produced and amplified by their deployment of generative artificial intelligence (gAI). All three companies have made multibillion dollar investments in gAI.
At Microsoft’s annual general meeting on Thursday, shareholders will vote on a resolution recommending that the company issue an annual report on the material risks of generative AI-powered mis- and disinformation to its business operations. The proposed report would include Microsoft’s plans to mitigate those risks, as well as the effectiveness of its efforts. The resolution, which appears as Proposal 13 on the company’s proxy statement, was submitted by Arjuna Capital (lead filer), Azzad Asset Management, Eko, and Open MIC.
“Finance-focused strategies promise to be a game-changer in advancing human rights in the digital age,” said Jessica Dheere. “I’m thrilled to have the opportunity to build on Open MIC’s pioneering work in this field and to explore new frontiers, by broadening the base of people who are adept at challenging corporate power to ensure that information technologies do not compromise—and ideally reinforce—social justice and people’s expression, privacy, and labor rights.”
While Open MIC supports the assessment’s recommendations for improvements to Microsoft’s policies and practices, we believe the assessment fails to live up to its promise of giving shareholders and other interested stakeholders a meaningful assessment of Microsoft’s responsibility for the human rights impacts at issue. We call on Microsoft to implement these recommendations and to remain transparent and accountable to their stakeholders throughout the process.
As the outlook for artificial intelligence (AI) continues to dominate headlines globally, Open MIC filed a joint public comment recommending that the U.S. National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) develop critical guardrails on AI development and use in order for the potential benefits of AI technology to be realized.
The big tech companies have tremendous positive potential, and tremendous capacity to harm. Over the past several years, investors have turned up the pressure on tech, shattering shareholder proposal records and making the case for responsible and rights-respecting corporate governance. Open MIC has been, and continues to be, an important part of that effort.
Open MIC calls on Microsoft to provide a prompt explanation for the delays and a clear timeline for the release of the independent human rights report, one that allows investors sufficient time to refile if the report fails to meet expectations. Stakeholders and shareholders deserve transparency and accountability, and the timely publication of this report is crucial in evaluating Microsoft's commitment to upholding human rights principles.
This year, Amazon is facing an astonishing eighteen proposals from its own shareholders at its annual general meeting—a record number for any single company in a given year. The proposals—all of which the company opposes—call on Amazon to answer tough questions on a variety of technology impacts, labor practices, and corporate governance concerns.
Open MIC has submitted a shareholder proposal at Axon calling on the company to abandon its dangerous proposal to deploy AI-assisted drones equipped with TASERs in schools and other public environments. The proposal highlights a series of stunning governance failures from Axon’s leadership, exposing investors to unprecedented risks in flagrant disregard of the company’s own safeguards.
Open MIC has successfully withdrawn a shareholder proposal this month after extensive engagement with the Interpublic Group of Companies (IPG) regarding its data broker subsidiary Acxiom, and specifically the company’s policies and practices regarding reproductive health data. The proposal was an attempt by shareholders to press IPG to release a report regarding Acxiom’s data privacy policies. In response to shareholder and Open MIC efforts, IPG has released a public statement that meets shareholder demands for greater public transparency.
