Apple's shareholders will let it keep its AI business under wraps

• Apple shareholders rejected a proposal to release an AI transparency report.
• AFL-CIO, a labor union federation, wants big tech companies to publish ethical guidelines for the technology.
• But Apple's shareholders said on Wednesday that creating such a report would hurt their competitive strategy.

Exactly how Apple uses artificial intelligence in its business will remain a mystery to the general public.

The tech giant's shareholders voted on Wednesday to reject a measure that asked the company for a transparency report on how it uses AI in its business practices, and if it uses it ethically, according to Bloomberg.

The request was proposed by AFL-CIO Equity Index Funds, the largest labor union federation in the US, back in October, according to the group's website.

In addition to Apple, they urged companies like Disney, Netflix, and Warner Brothers Discovery to release AI transparency reports. The group believes that transparent ethical guidelines around the use of AI would help protect workers, consumers, and the public from the harms of the emerging technology, it said in its October press release.

The AFL-CIO's request also urged the companies to protect the copyrighted works of writers, artists, and creators.

"AI systems should not be trained on copyrighted works, or the voices, likenesses and performances of professional performers, without transparency, consent and compensation to creators and rights holders," the AFL-CIO wrote in its supporting statement to Apple, according to Reuters.

But, Apple's biggest shareholders said that revealing too much about the company's technology could hurt its competitive strategy, Reuters reported.

Disney's shareholders will hear a similar proposal at their annual meeting in April, according to Reuters.