It’s barely news to our readers that AI continues to have a widespread impact on the capital markets, not only the wider world. But new data shows that rather than enabling new efficiencies, the technology may be posing an existential crisis for some investors and the companies they hold.
According to figures compiled by FTI Consulting, the number of shareholder proposals that directly addressed AI in the US more than doubled from 2023 to 2024. The scope and ambition of those proposals have also grown. And when we delve a little deeper into what shareholders are concerned about, there is a growing case that companies – and IR teams – need to get out in front of some key topics before they find themselves in the middle of an AI storm.
For one, despite AI being on investors’ radar for some time – FTI says the first AI-related proposal was received by Amazon in 2019 – these new proposals are moving on basic requests for greater transparency on companies’ use policies or ethical frameworks for using the technology.
This year marks the first time shareholders have requested specific attributions of board responsibilities to enhance AI oversight at two companies, while others sought disclosures relating to the social implications of AI on an organization’s workforce.
And it’s not just tech companies, traditionally the target of such inquiries, that have received such proposals. While nine of the 24 AI-related proposals were fielded in this sector, the remainder were lodged at smaller media and entertainment firms, a restaurant chain and – for the first time – a healthcare company.
The scope has also widened in terms of the types of investors interested in the topic, with proposals fielded by an increasingly broad church: union funds, socially responsible investors, faith-based investors and pension funds all filed AI-related queries, particularly those that center on the social risks posed.
At present, those proposals have been met with growing support, though not majority backing, from investors. One at Netflix, filed by the AFL-CIO and calling for transparency reports on the streaming platform’s AI use and ethical guidelines, garnered 43.4 percent of the vote – just 6.7 percent short of a majority – while another at Apple was backed by 37.5 percent of voting shares.
Others that asked for board directors to take up responsibility for AI oversight were, unsurprisingly, less popular, gaining less than 10 percent of votes in favor.
But it illustrates that the opportunities and risks posed by the technology are not yet fully understood, either by companies or their investors. Another wave of proposals is surely likely to emerge in the next 12 months, and IR teams need to be across the issue accordingly (if you want to turbo-charge your AI understanding, our AI for IR Forum in London or this upcoming webinar may interest you).
That said, there’s little evidence yet that AI is writing shareholder proposals itself. Hopefully we’ll be able to spot its grubby digital fingerprints from a long way off.
Has your company been engaged with regarding AI-related issues? How did you respond? Let us know at [email protected], or via our page on LinkedIn.
Laurie Havelock
Laurie has been part of the IR Magazine team for more than a decade, starting out as a reporter and research editor before becoming editor in 2023. He was previously acting business editor at the i newspaper and deputy business editor at The Daily...
