Financial Times (May 28)
ExxonMobil’s annual general meeting should be “a wake-up call for other executives with a bunker mentality.” Engine No 1, an obscure hedge fund, got shareholders to elect two directors by focusing on economics, not ethics, arguing that “Exxon has been so slow to recognize the need for a transition away from fossil fuel that its revenues will crumble, destroying investor capital.” Today’s activists “are not just trying to save the world; they are also trying to save their own portfolios in a world where regulators are enforcing green standards.”
Tags: Activists, AGM, Bunker mentality, Capital, Directors, Economics, Engine No 1, Ethics, ExxonMobil, Fossil fuel, Hedge-fund, Investor, Portfolios, Revenues, Shareholders, Transition, Wake-up
Inc. (November Issue)
“Sure, self-driving cars are smart. But can they learn ethics?” Not everyone is concerned. “Academics worry how A.I. will be programmed to navigate ethical dilemmas. Founders of A.I.-driven companies don’t.” But many tricky decisions experienced by drivers “as a one-off” will need examination because ultimately “driverless cars must grapple with it at scale.”
Chicago Tribune (October 5)
“Computer software now governs virtually every aspect of our lives, from cars to kitchen appliances…. But computer software can deceive us, and this was the disturbing message from the recent Volkswagen scandal, where the German carmaker fitted millions of cars with software that could outsmart emission-control testing.” This new era demands “a code of ethics, a Hippocratic oath, for our computer engineers and the software they create.”
Tags: Appliances, Cars, Computer engineers, Emissions, Ethics, Scandal, Software, Volkswagen