Bloomberg reports that several tech giants, including Microsoft, Google, and Nvidia, have submitted risk reports to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) regarding the field of artificial intelligence. The purpose is to warn their investors about potential issues, aiming to avoid legal actions from shareholders in case of problems.
The article highlights that dozens of tech companies have included or updated AI-related risk warnings in their financial reports, submitted to the SEC. Despite the rapid advancement of AI, these companies caution that regulatory scrutiny or litigation could lead to poor financial performance and investor losses.
Notably, companies such as Microsoft, Google, Nvidia, Meta, Adobe, Dell, Oracle, and Uber have submitted such warnings. Specific concerns raised include potential misuse of AI in elections (Meta), copyright claims related to AI training and content generation (Microsoft), societal impacts like human rights violations and job disruptions (Alphabet), labor market disruptions and impacts on existing software demand (Adobe), and potential global restrictions on products due to AI misuse (Nvidia).
In fact, Microsoft is currently involved in a legal battle with The New York Times over alleged unauthorized use of its content by OpenAI, with potential damages estimated in the billions of dollars. Similarly, Google is investigating whether OpenAI improperly used YouTube content for its product training, emphasizing adherence to service terms.
These risk reports aim to inform investors about possible issues, aligning with industry practices to mitigate the risk of shareholder lawsuits targeting companies that fail to disclose risks already flagged by peers. Nvidia, for instance, notes concerns that its chips have become central in U.S.-China tensions, following export restrictions signed by President Biden last year.
Last week, Taiwan’s Financial Supervisory Commission released guidelines on AI application in the financial sector, focusing on risk management and customer privacy protection.
Despite these risk concerns, the aforementioned companies are intensifying their investments in AI to stay competitive in the industry. Meta recently opened positions for personnel specializing in Generative AI (GenAI), while Nvidia unveiled its latest supercomputing architecture, Blackwell, at COMPUTEX 2024, tailored for large-scale AI applications.
