With AI-related risks being inherently global in nature, the hope and anticipation is that there will be a suitably robust regulatory environment wherever the technology is deployed, Michael Connor, Executive Director at Open MIC, tells ESG Investor.
“Many companies have global activities, so we need to ensure that if they are applying a higher standard in Europe due to EU regulations, this should be the case wherever they operate to foster greater corporate accountability in the deployment and use of digital technologies,” he says.
“We approached Apple in good faith and encouraged them to take a leadership role here,” says Ifeoma Ozoma, who’s helping to lead the effort. “Their response was to use the same employee handbook that they’ve reportedly been using to silence workers as an excuse to say no. We responded that this wasn’t acceptable — and curiously haven’t heard back.”
Open MIC, a nonprofit that works with shareholders to advocate for greater corporate accountability and is helping to organize the proposal, says Mitchell’s firing may have been retaliatory. “The justification they use is ‘this person violated our data security work,’” says associate director Hannah Lucal. “It’s important to lift that up because they use trade secrets and data policy as an excuse for retaliating against worker organizers.”
