Below is an excerpt from ISS’ recently released report titled A Look at AI-Related Shareholder Proposals at U.S. Companies, 2022-2025. The full report is available to institutional subscribers by logging into ProxyExchange then selecting the Knowledge Center and its Library tab and to corporate subscribers by logging into Compass then selecting Governance and the Governance Library or Governance Exchange tab.
If you are not a subscriber, you can download a copy of the full report here.
The long-projected systemic and business transformations that can be brought about by Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies have started. Accordingly, many companies and their boards of directors have faced scrutiny in recent years over effective governance mechanisms and due diligence of the opportunities as well as the material risks—financial, regulatory, legal, and reputational—posed by AI. Potential AI and associated hyperscale data center issues are far-reaching and span governance, environmental, and social aspects. It is perhaps unclear whether markets have yet fully priced in some of the wide-ranging and material risks, alongside the opportunities.
This article looks at a range of issues from an investor perspective focusing on recent U.S. shareholder proposals directly related to AI and at companies providing AI tools and infrastructure. These proposals address topics such as privacy concerns, copyright infringement, energy and water usage, community and societal impacts, human rights, and “just transition” strategies for affected employees, as well as board oversight of these matters.
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By: Joseph Hong
