US regulator denies Apple, Disney bids to skip votes on AI

Apple and Disney cannot avoid shareholder votes about their use of artificial intelligence put forward by a labor group, the top US securities regulator has ruled.

In notices dated January 3, the US Securities and Exchange Commission rejected requests by the iPhone maker and by the entertainment giant to exclude from their upcoming annual meetings calls for reports on their use of AI.

Corporations have embraced the new technology for its promised efficiencies. But the trend has prompted fears it would replace many creative and professional workers or unfairly draw on their work, issues in recent Hollywood labor disputes and a recent New York Times lawsuit.