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.
“The Supreme Court’s decision in Dobbs v. Jackson is a devastating blow to human and civil rights. It will be vitally important to support organizations and networks working to protect pregnant people and those who may become pregnant, especially in states where abortion healthcare is criminalized.
For technology companies, the decision raises immediate and essential concerns regarding data privacy, collection, retention, and sharing practices.
Open MIC today joined a coalition of 40 organizations in urging the U.S. Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board (PCLOB), an independent executive branch agency, to recommend suspension of facial recognition programs across the federal government. The organizations sent a letter to the PCLOB citing the dangerously rapid growth of government-supported facial recognition systems targeting American citizens within the United States.
The AT&T proposal follows recent news reports that AT&T provided U.S. law enforcement agencies routine access to customer data through a sweeping program called Hemisphere. The proposal at Verizon comes on the heels of the company’s proposed acquisition of Yahoo. Subsequent to the company’s July announcement, Verizon learned of a data breach involving an estimated 500 million Yahoo accounts while Reuters reported that Yahoo had secretly built a custom software program to search all of its customers' incoming emails for specific information flagged by U.S. intelligence officials.
Open MIC joined a coalition of 76 public interest organizations in signing on to a letter to the Chairman and Commissioners of the FCC urging the agency to take action on three important issues: the set-top box rulemaking, the broadband privacy rulemaking, and the zero rating investigation. Public interest organizations view action on these issues as necessary to make internet, cable, and satellite services more affordable and open, and to preserve internet users’ privacy.
Open MIC joined a coalition of 17 civil rights, tech policy and privacy organizations in signing a letter of concern about racial bias in "predictive policing" technology. The letter, which accompanied the release of a report by Upturn about the civil rights implications of policing technology, emphasizes the disturbing lack of transparency among both law enforcement and the increasing number of companies who profit from "predictive policing" technology.
American Express shareholders expressed strong support for a consumer privacy proposal filed by sustainable wealth manager, Arjuna Capital in collaboration with open media advocate Open MIC. The proposal was supported by over 21% of shareholders at the company’s annual meeting held Monday in New York, representing a high historic vote on a social issue.
A coalition of investors, which had requested that Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE: VZ) publish regular reports on government and law enforcement requests for confidential customer data, today commended the company for publishing its first report and made recommendations for improving future reports.
Citing the potential of “unprecedented and dangerous threats to the privacy of hundreds of millions of people” from government surveillance programs, a group of leading sustainable investment firms has called upon publicly-held U.S. companies to demonstrate leadership by adopting “a pro-active, principled approach to protecting the privacy and rights of their users.”
