Apple Investors Reject Call for Report Into Company’s AI Use

(Bloomberg) -- Apple Inc. shareholders rejected a labor-backed request for an artificial intelligence transparency report, which would have delved into whether the company is using the technology ethically.
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The proposal, submitted by AFL-CIO Equity Index Funds, was voted down at Apple’s annual meeting on Wednesday. Shareholders also rejected measures about equal employment policies, civil liberties, racial and gender pay gaps, and human rights. They approved the board slate and the company’s executive compensation plan.
The AI proposal urged Apple to disclose the ethical guidelines that it follows in adopting the technology. Artificial intelligence raises “a number of social policy issues,” according to the measure’s supporting statement. That includes whether it may result in biased decisions against employees or violate the privacy of customers. The statement also warned about the threat of layoffs stemming from automation.
Though the measure was decisively defeated, it was a closer vote than the other shareholder proposals. The AFL-CIO investment arm also is pressing other tech and media firms on the issue, including Walt Disney Co., Netflix Inc. and Warner Bros. Discovery Inc.
In a twist, the proposal was read by Apple retail store employee Michael Forsythe, who said he and his colleagues were concerned about the company’s expansion into artificial intelligence. Forsythe helped launch a unionization push at an Apple store in Oklahoma City.
Apple has been less open than tech peers about its plans for generative AI — the technology behind chatbots like ChatGPT — but it has promised to discuss its plans later this year. That presentation could come as soon as June, when the company holds its annual developers conference.