Investor toolkit to provide guidance on AI and human rights risks | RIAA

The Responsible Investment Association of Australasia (RIAA) has launched a toolkit to help investors address the rapidly evolving human rights risks presented by Artificial Intelligence (AI). The Artificial Intelligence and Human Rights Investor Toolkit was created by RIAA’s Human Rights Working Group, drawn from RIAA’s membership base.

“The potential benefits of AI are immense, but investors are increasingly aware of the risks posed by AI, especially when it is inadequately designed, inappropriately used or maliciously deployed. Not only does AI pose risks to individuals and their human rights, but there are also ethical and financial risks to companies and investors as this technology evolves.”

Estelle Parker, Co-CEO at RIAA

The investor toolkit is comprehensive and is appropriate for people who may not have had much familiarity with the issue to date. It seeks to enhance the investment community’s understanding of the financial and human rights risks associated with AI. It outlines the issues, provides case studies, outlines methodologies for understanding risks, and details strategies for investor engagement.

Liza McDonald, Head of Responsible Investment at Aware Super and Co-Chair of the toolkits’ subgroup, said, “As one of Australia’s largest profit-for-member super funds and an early adopter in the pension industry, Aware Super uses artificial intelligence prudently to help in designing more efficient services for our 1.1 million members. We also recognise the risks AI’s rapid evolution has created. Our members trust us to do all that is practical to safeguard their super, and we continually invest in robust technical and human security measures, in collaboration with the appropriate regulatory authorities, to help mitigate these threats. We’re proud to contribute to the Artificial Intelligence and Human Rights Investor Toolkit to ensure that in a world of rapid change, institutional investors can share their experiences and perspectives to use AI effectively and judiciously and provide the strongest possible safeguards to their stakeholders’ financial and human rights.”

Mark Lyster, Edge Impact, Co-Chair of the toolkits’ subgroup, added that “Investors, through their ownership stewardship activities, have an important role to play in mitigating potential adverse human rights impacts from the use of the AI by investees. RIAA’s AI & Human Rights Investor Toolkit provides investors with the frameworks and practical resources to achieve this”.

After attendees at RIAA’s 2023 conference raised a range of concerns related to digital technology, RIAA’s Human Rights Working Group identified the need for a resource that will help Investors address these concerns.

The toolkit not only gives an overview of the issues, it provides guidance on investor engagement.

 “It was clear from the feedback we received at the conference, and conversations in our Human Rights Working Group, that investors are really struggling to get their heads around things like privacy and data protection, online safety, political participation and discrimination. From powering algorithms through to enabling deepfake pornography, the vast potential of AI is linked to a wide range of human rights risks. As investors, we need to be aware of how these are emerging and what we can do to address them.”

“Our research shows that stewardship is now the most used responsible investment approach. Engagement with investee or potential investee companies is an important part of reducing the risks associated with AI. Through active corporate engagement, investors can communicate concerns and priorities to a company’s leadership and encourage better business practices. In turn, this helps to protect the long-term returns of clients and beneficiaries. Once investors understand their exposure to adverse human rights impacts and flow-on risks, they are better-placed to prioritise engagement based on their portfolio’s most salient human rights issues.”

Estelle Parker, Co-CEO at RIAA

Click here to access the Artificial Intelligence and Human Rights Investor Toolkit.

Photo credit © Steve Johnson

All opinions expressed are those of the author and/or quoted sources. investESG.eu is an independent and neutral platform dedicated to generating debate around ESG investing topics.