Large institutional investors are concerned about liability for human rights issues related to software and are increasing pressure on technology companies to take responsibility for possible misuse of artificial intelligence.
The Collective Impact Coalition for Digital Inclusion, comprising 32 financial institutions representing $6.9 trillion in assets under management, including Aviva Investors, Fidelity International and HSBC Asset Management, aims to bring ethical AI to tech companies. It is one of the leading organizations in influencing efforts to
In recent months, Aviva Investors has met with tech companies, including chipmakers, to warn them to step up protections against human rights risks related to AI, including surveillance, discrimination, unauthorized facial recognition and mass layoffs.
Louise Pifor, head of environmental, social and governance equities integration at a UK insurer’s wealth management division, said meetings with companies on the subject were “paced and The atmosphere is accelerating,” he said. Like other companies they partner with, if the partnership fails, Aviva investors will vote against management at the annual shareholder meeting, raise concerns with regulators, or sell their stake. It’s possible, he said.
“It’s easy to walk away from accountability by saying it’s not my fault when a company misuses my product, and that’s where the discussion becomes difficult,” Pifor said.
Investment bank Jefferies said last week that AI could replace climate change as the “new big thing” responsible investors have been worried about.
The coalition’s increased activity comes as Nikolai Tangen, chief executive of Norway’s $1.4 trillion oil fund, called for further regulation of the burgeoning oil fund, and 9,000 companies in which it invests have made AI a ” It comes two months after revealing it would set guidelines on how to use it “ethically.” sector.
Aviva Investors, which manages more than £226 billion, has a small stake in the world’s largest contract chip maker, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, where it has the ability to train large-scale AI models such as: Demand for advanced chips used in We are behind ChatGPT.
It also owns stakes in hardware and software companies such as Tencent Holdings, Samsung Electronics, MediaTek and Nvidia, as well as tech companies such as Alphabet and Microsoft that develop generative AI tools.
Asset managers have also met with consumer, media and industrial companies to reinstate rather than fire employees where AI-related efficiencies are putting them at risk of losing their jobs. Make sure you are committed to educating.
Jen Hui Tan, head of stewardship and sustainable investing at Fidelity International, said that concerns over social issues such as “privacy concerns, algorithmic bias and job security” were “democratic, It has even been superseded by “actual existential concerns about the future of humanity.”
The UK-based group has been meeting with hardware, software and internet companies to discuss these issues, he said, and would consider a sale if it didn’t think there was enough progress.
Legal and General Investment Management, Britain’s largest asset manager, which has stewardship codes for issues such as deforestation and arms supplies, said it was working on a similar document on artificial intelligence.
Kieron Boyle, CEO of the Impact Investing Institute, a UK government-funded think tank, believes AI will reduce entry-level opportunities for women and minorities across all industries and increase workforce diversity. “There are more and more impact investors,” he said, worried about being swayed. many years ago.
Richard Gardiner, head of EU public policy at the Dutch nonprofit World Benchmark Alliance, which founded the Collective Impact Coalition, said investors seeking tech companies to focus on their entire supply chain could He said he wants to stay ahead of ethical and regulatory risks. Investors like Aviva were probably concerned that if they didn’t act, they could one day be held accountable for human rights abuses by the companies they invest in, he said.
“If you make a bullet that you hold in your hand and it does nothing, and you put it in someone else’s hands and it shoots someone, how well do you track the usage of that product? Do you?” he added. “Investors want assurance that standards are set if they are held accountable.”
Of the 200 tech companies the WBA assessed in March, only 44 had published frameworks for ethical artificial intelligence.
Some showed signs of best practice, the alliance said. Sony had ethical guidelines on AI that all employees in the group must follow, and Vodafone had the right to redress customers who felt they had been wronged as a result of decisions made by the AI system, whereas Deutsche Telekom You can disable the AI system at any time using the “Kill Switch”.
Industries such as mining have long been expected to take responsibility for human rights issues across their supply chains, but regulators are calling on tech companies and financial firms to extend this expectation.
The EU’s Corporate Due Diligence Directive, which is being negotiated by member states, authorities and parliamentarians, is expected to require companies such as semiconductor manufacturers to consider human rights risks in their value chains.
The OECD updated its voluntary guidelines for multinationals earlier this month, saying tech companies should seek to prevent environmental and social harm related to their products, including those related to artificial intelligence.
