BCE INC. | A Framework for Artificial Intelligence Aimed at Preserving the Human Aspect at BCE INC.

Status
Withdrawn
AGM date
Previous AGM date
Resolution details
Company ticker
BCE
Lead filer
-
Resolution ask
Report on or disclose
ESG theme
  • Social
ESG sub-theme
  • Digital rights
Type of vote
Shareholder proposal
Filer type
Shareholder
Company sector
Telecom
Company HQ country
Canada
Resolved clause
It is being proposed that BCE Inc. produce a report on the use of artificial intelligence in high-level decision-making, risk assessment, and credit underwriting.
Supporting statement
Argument Artificial intelligence is increasingly being used to supplement judgments traditionally made by humans. But as a recent IMF paper(1) shows, this involves risks in terms of privacy protection, potential biases built into the system, and the robustness of its analyses. It is telling that even the pioneers of AI are wary of the risks it poses. In early 2023, more than 350 leaders in the AI sector signed a declaration(2) urging the international community to prioritize mitigating the risk of “extinction” posed by AI, placing this risk on the same level as a pandemic or nuclear war. Since this moratorium did not happen, it is reasonable to assume that the urgency to act is even greater, as expressed by Joshua Bengio, one of the signatories of this moratorium request, in an interview with the newspaper Les Affaires(3). This report should address the measures taken by BCE in order to: • promote transparency on how, why, and when artificial intelligence is used; • evaluate the results of AI systems, including generative tools, in order to minimize bias and inaccuracies, and enable users to distinguish between AI results and those generated by humans; • train employees or contract workers who develop or use AI so that they understand the legal, ethical, and operational issues, including privacy, security, and bias, and are able to adopt AI systems responsibly. This proposal was supported by 6.34% of the votes at the last annual meeting.

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