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.
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.
Earlier this week, the Nathan Cummings Foundation filed a shareholder proposal asking Alphabet, the parent company of Google and YouTube, to commission an independent racial equity audit “analyzing Alphabet Inc.’s adverse impacts on Black, Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC) communities.”
Open MIC joined with 43 civil society organizations in sending a letter to Congress calling on legislators to protect civil rights, equity, and equal opportunity in the digital ecosystem. As members of Congress continue to hold hearings and introduce legislation on digital privacy, they must address the data security and privacy abuses that disproportionately harm marginalized communities.
The National Digital Inclusion Alliance (NDIA) today reports "strong evidence" that for the past decade, AT&T has systematically discriminated against poor residents in Cleveland in its deployment of home Internet and digital technologies. An analysis of FCC broadband data by digital inclusion groups NDIA and Connect Your Community suggests that AT&T has engaged in "digital redlining."
Shareholders of AT&T Inc. are pressing the company to “review and publicly report on AT&T’s progress toward providing Internet service and products for low-income customers,” after the company committed to offering an affordable access program for low-income customers last year. The shareholder proposal, filed by Zevin Asset Management and co-filed by Arjuna Capital, points out the stark digital divide that exists throughout America today, stating that 34 million Americans still do not have access to fixed high-speed Internet, with the majority of affected residents being poor, people of color, elderly, or rural residents.
As both the Republican National Committee and Democratic National Committee’s platform committees hold meetings in Washington, D.C. this week, Open MIC joined 19 other public interest organizations in a letter to both parties asking that they include public-interest and affected community groups in discussions on internet access, the open internet, and online privacy. The full letter can be found here.
