The measure, opposed by Shopify's board, would have required AI alignment with human rights standards. The vote followed a push by SHARE and a pension fund.
Shopify shareholders voted down a proposal Tuesday that would have required the e-commerce platform to align its artificial intelligence use with international human rights standards.
The measure, filed by the Shareholder Association for Research and Education on behalf of the United Church of Canada pension plan, called on Shopify to pledge respect for human rights when deploying AI and to follow standards set by bodies like the United Nations.
Shopify's board opposed the proposal before the vote, calling it a “solution in search of a problem” in a statement filed May 8. “SHARE is applying a generic AI policy template across public companies with no regard for what those companies actually do or how they operate,” the board wrote.
SHARE told BetaKit it expected the result. Shopify's dual-class share structure gives founder and CEO Tobi Lütke outsized voting power. In 2022 the company approved a special “founder share” that granted Lütke 40% voting power on top of his Class B shares. That structure makes it hard for outside proposals to pass without management support.
Lütke has steered the Ottawa company toward an AI-first strategy. Shopify is building shopping tools for AI chatbots and encourages employees to use and experiment with AI tools internally.
Shareholder proposals on responsible AI have become more frequent in Canada. Quebec investor rights group MÉDAC urged 14 companies, including big banks and grocery chains, to sign the federal government's AI code of conduct. Those proposals were voted down in nine instances. At Power Corporation of Canada, MÉDAC withdrew its proposal after discussions with the company.
BetaKit, which reported the vote, disclosed that its majority owner Good Future is the family office of two former Shopify leaders, Arati Sharma and Satish Kanwar.
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