This study explores the information regarding Artificial Intelligence (AI) included by European listed companies in their annual and/or sustainability reports. The study mainly focuses on (1) the development and use of AI systems/projects reported by companies, (2) the extent to which companies disclose ethical principles or guidelines regarding AI and (3) the factors explaining these practices.

The study analyses the reports of 200 companies listed in the major indexes of Germany, Sweden, Finland, France, Spain, and Italy, both from qualitative and quantitative perspectives. All reports are analysed, using content analysis methodology, to identify expressions such as ‘artificial intelligence’, ‘machine learning’, ‘deep learning’, and ‘big data’, and then classified accordingly. The study’s findings suggest a growing interest in the above-mentioned technologies, although 41.5% of companies do not report any activity in the field of AI. The adoption of ethical approaches to AI is at a very preliminary stage, and<5% of companies report on that issue. The quantitative analysis shows that larger companies, companies in the Technology and Telecommunications industries, and companies based in Southern countries are more likely to disclose information on AI activity. The majority of companies that develop ethical principles are listed in the Northern region and belong to the Technology and Telecommunications industries.

The study provides evidence of AI disclosure, a type of non-financial disclosure that has not been explored yet in the literature. Unlike existing studies, we propose a first definition of the topic and a taxonomy that can be used in further research on AI disclosure and can contribute to the development of KPIs in the field. Furthermore, this study provides a theoretical framework integrating some traditional theories, such as Voluntary disclosure theory, Signalling theory, and Legitimacy theory, specifically drawn to interpret AI disclosure practices, which can help with a further in-depth exploration of AI disclosure combining concurrent perspectives. The study’s results may serve as a starting point for researchers and companies interested in the topic.

本研究探讨了欧洲上市公司在其年度和/或可持续发展报告中包含的有关人工智能 (AI) 的信息。该研究主要关注 (1) 公司报告的人工智能系统/项目的开发和使用，(2) 公司披露有关人工智能的道德原则或准则的程度，以及 (3) 解释这些做法的因素。

该研究从定性和定量两个角度分析了在德国、瑞典、芬兰、法国、西班牙和意大利的主要指数中上市的200家公司的报告。使用内容分析方法对所有报告进行分析，以识别“人工智能”、“机器学习”、“深度学习”和“大数据”等表达方式，然后进行相应分类。该研究的结果表明，人们对上述技术的兴趣日益浓厚，尽管 41.5% 的公司没有报告在人工智能领域的任何活动。在人工智能中采用道德方法还处于非常初级的阶段，不到 5% 的公司报告了这个问题。定量分析表明，较大的公司，技术和电信行业的公司，南方国家的公司更有可能披露有关人工智能活动的信息。大多数制定道德原则的公司都在北部地区上市，属于技术和电信行业。

该研究提供了人工智能披露的证据，这是一种尚未在文献中探讨的非财务披露。与现有研究不同，我们提出了该主题的第一个定义和分类法，可用于进一步研究人工智能披露，并有助于该领域 KPI 的发展。此外，本研究提供了一个理论框架，整合了一些传统理论，如自愿披露理论、信号理论和合法性理论，专门用于解释人工智能披露实践，有助于结合并发观点进一步深入探索人工智能披露。 . 该研究的结果可以作为对该主题感兴趣的研究人员和公司的起点。