Little more than a year after ChatGPT made its seismic impact on business and wider society, questions about the safety of AI have become a pressing issue for investors in the 2024 proxy season.
Several AI-related shareholder proposals have been prompted by growing concern about the risks that rapid advances in this field pose to core institutions and the fundamentals of democracy and human rights.
The nearly 20 proposals submitted since late last year have mainly been aimed at companies ushering in the age of AI, including Alphabet (Google), Amazon, Apple, Microsoft and Meta Platforms. The signatories are seeking greater transparency regarding how the technology is being applied, as well as the disclosure of ethical guidelines governing its use.