Open MIC and partners Arjuna Capital, Ekō and Azzad Asset Management have filed shareholder proposals at Alphabet, Meta and Microsoft, calling on each respective company to issue a report on the material risks of its generative artificial intelligence (gAI) technology facilitating misinformation and disinformation, as well as assessing the effectiveness of its efforts to remediate harms they can cause.
Microsoft shareholders were the first to consider the resolution, and over 21% voted in favor. Responsible Investor, a leading industry trade publication, called it an "impressive" result for a first-time proposal, showing that AI-generated misinformation is a key issue for shareholders.
In spring 2024, we continued to build on that positive result at the meetings of Meta (May) and Alphabet (June) through an advocacy campaign targeting shareholders, asset managers and proxy advisors. Owing to multi-class share structures at both companies that concentrate voting power with company insiders, neither of the proposals officially passed. Nevertheless, strong support among independent shareholders (53.6% at Meta and 45.7% at Alphabet) suggests that these issues are a high priority for investors.
In July 2024, Open MIC, Arjuna Capital, and Ekō refiled the shareholder proposal at Microsoft, again urging the company to measure and report on the risks of misinformation and disinformation linked to their gAI products. 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 gAI risks.