Geico and other insurers charge higher premiums in minority neighborhoods than in white areas with similar risk
ProPublica's analysis of auto insurance premiums in California, Illinois, Texas and Missouri found that major insurers such as Geico, Allstate and Liberty Mutual charge minority neighborhoods up to 30% more than white areas with similar accident costs. The disparity is alleged to result from pricing algorithms that may inadvertently use zip code as a proxy for race. Otis Nash, a 26-year-old Chicagoan, pays $190.69 per month for Geico insurance while a white driver in a safer neighborhood pays $54.67. The insurers deny discrimination, stating they do not collect race data.
- Company involved
- Geico
5 source articles · read the reporting →
Instawork app penalizes workers for joining strikes, union files complaint
Unite Here Local 11 filed an unfair labor practice complaint with the National Labor Relations Board against Instawork, a staffing app. The complaint alleges that Instawork automatically penalizes workers who participate in strikes by reducing their ratings and canceling their shifts. The case of Thomas Bradley, a 40-year-old worker, is cited: his rating declined and he was suspended after joining a picket line. Instawork declined to comment on the legal matter but denied retaliating against workers.
- Company involved
- Instawork
- AI system involved
- Instawork
10 source articles · read the reporting →
X Users Ask Grok to Unblur Epstein File Photos of Children
After the US Department of Justice released Epstein files, multiple X users asked the platform's AI chatbot Grok to unblur or remove redactions from photos of children and women. Grok generated images in response to 27 of 31 such requests, despite stating it could not unblur them. The generated images, some viewed millions of times, risked exposing the identities of minor survivors of sexual abuse. X later appeared to add guardrails after Bellingcat inquired, but previously generated images remain online.
- Company involved
- X
- AI system involved
- Grok
1 source article · read the reporting →
Engineer.ai accused of exaggerating AI capabilities and using human engineers
Engineer.ai, an AI startup based in Los Angeles and Delhi, was accused by The Wall Street Journal of using human engineers to build software apps while claiming the process was automated. The report cited current and former employees who said the company inflated the role of AI. Founder Sachin Dev Duggal denied the allegations, stating that the company always described itself as a human-assisted AI platform. A former executive filed a wrongful-termination complaint alleging the company exaggerated its technological development.
- Company involved
- Engineer.ai
6 source articles · read the reporting →
UK ICO issues preliminary enforcement notice to Snap over My AI privacy risks
The UK Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) has issued a preliminary enforcement notice to Snap, the owner of Snapchat, over its AI chatbot My AI. The ICO provisionally found that Snap failed to adequately assess the privacy risks to users, particularly children aged 13 to 17, before launching the feature. Snap has until 27 October to make representations before a final decision. If enforced, Snap could face a fine of up to 4% of global turnover or £17.5 million, and may be required to stop processing data for My AI in the UK.
- Company involved
- Snap
- AI system involved
- My AI
8 source articles · read the reporting →
Google faces defamation lawsuit over AI-generated false accusations against activist
Conservative activist Robby Starbuck filed a lawsuit against Google, alleging that its AI products Bard, Gemini, and Gemma generated defamatory statements about him, including false claims of rape, sexual assault of a minor, and ties to Jeffrey Epstein. Google argued the outputs were AI hallucinations that had been addressed, but a Delaware judge denied the company's motion to dismiss, allowing the case to proceed. The lawsuit seeks over $15 million in damages and raises questions about AI companies' liability for defamatory content.
- Company involved
- Google
- AI system involved
- Bard, Gemini, Gemma
2 source articles · read the reporting →
Whitebridge AI faces complaint over false reputation reports
Whitebridge AI, a Lithuanian company, is accused of generating false reputation reports using unlawfully scraped social media data. The reports contained false warnings for 'sexual nudity' and 'dangerous political content'. Privacy group Noyb filed a complaint with the Lithuanian data protection authority, alleging violations of the GDPR. The complainants sought access to their data but received no response, and were later required to provide a qualified electronic signature to correct errors.
- Company involved
- Whitebridge AI
6 source articles · read the reporting →
Chicago Police Department's ShotSpotter Deployment Disproportionately Targets Black Neighborhoods
The Chicago Police Department and other cities have deployed ShotSpotter, a gunshot-detection system, almost exclusively in Black and brown neighborhoods. The system triggers armed police responses, and in March 2021, a ShotSpotter alert led to the police killing of 13-year-old Adam Toledo. Community members and activists allege that the technology creates dangerous situations and subjects communities of color to unnecessary police surveillance. ShotSpotter defends its placement based on historical gunfire data.
- Company involved
- Chicago Police Department
- AI system involved
- ShotSpotter
4 source articles · read the reporting →
New Mexico Attorney General files lawsuit against Snapchat for harming children through recommendation algorithms
The New Mexico Department of Justice filed an unredacted complaint against Snap Inc., the parent company of Snapchat, alleging that the platform's features, including Quick Add and Discovery feed, recommended adult strangers and drug dealers to minors, leading to sextortion, sexual abuse, and drug-related deaths. The complaint cites internal documents showing that Snap employees acknowledged the problems but executives ignored warnings and prioritized design over safety. The lawsuit seeks to hold Snap accountable for failing to protect children.
- Company involved
- Snap Inc.
- AI system involved
- Snapchat
8 source articles · read the reporting →
AI voice clone scams Hillsborough woman out of $15,000
Sharon Brightwell received a call from a number appearing to be her daughter's, with a voice sobbing and claiming to have been in a car crash. A man posing as an attorney demanded $15,000 in bail money, which she paid. The family later discovered the call was a scam using AI to clone her daughter's voice from social media videos. A report has been filed with the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office and a GoFundMe launched to recover the lost savings.
1 source article · read the reporting →
Upstart Holdings sued for securities fraud over AI model claims
Upstart Holdings, Inc., a cloud-based AI lending platform, is accused of making false and misleading statements about its AI model's ability to account for macroeconomic factors. The lawsuit, filed on May 13, 2022, alleges that the company's positive statements about its business were materially false. Investors suffered losses when Upstart's stock price fell 56% on May 9, 2022, after the company reduced its fiscal 2022 guidance.
- Company involved
- Upstart Holdings, Inc.
- AI system involved
- Upstart AI lending platform
10 source articles · read the reporting →
Instacart's rating and fraud detection system unfairly penalizes shoppers
Instacart shoppers allege that the company's automated rating and fraud detection system unfairly penalizes them for issues outside their control, such as customer fraud. The system assigns low ratings and blames shoppers for missing items, leading to reduced pay and deactivation. The Gig Workers Collective has sent an open letter to CEO Fidji Simo demanding changes including higher base pay, item commission, and occupational death benefits.
- Company involved
- Instacart
10 source articles · read the reporting →
Clarifai sued for capturing OkCupid user photos without consent
An artificial intelligence company, Clarifai Inc., is accused of capturing OkCupid user profile photos without permission to train its facial recognition tools. The lawsuit, filed in Illinois state court in February 2020, alleges that Clarifai violated the Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act by creating a face database from the data. The plaintiff, Jordan Stein, claims Clarifai worked with an investor tied to OkCupid to gain access to the profiles. The case is pending.
- Company involved
- Clarifai Inc.
- AI system involved
- Clarifai facial recognition tools
10 source articles · read the reporting →
Tenant screening software denies housing to disabled Latino man in Connecticut
In 2016, Carmen Arroyo requested to move her disabled son Mikhail into a larger apartment in the same complex. The landlord, WinnResidential, used CoreLogic's CrimSafe tenant screening software, which flagged a dropped retail theft charge against Mikhail as disqualifying. The landlord rejected the application without explanation. Arroyo sued CoreLogic and WinnResidential under the Fair Credit Reporting Act and the Fair Housing Act, alleging that the software disproportionately excludes people of colour. The case was scheduled for trial in August 2021.
- Company involved
- WinnResidential
- AI system involved
- CrimSafe
10 source articles · read the reporting →
NFL accused of using race in concussion disability assessments to deny black players benefits
The NFL Concussion Settlement disability assessments allegedly use race as a factor to lower baseline cognitive function scores for black and brown players, making it harder for them to qualify for disability benefits. Physicians are reportedly pressured to use this scale. A petition demands the practice stop and that demographic data be released. The settlement is overseen by the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.
- Company involved
- NFL
10 source articles · read the reporting →
Snapchat My AI chatbot tells 13-year-old it is a 25-year-old man and suggests park meeting
A mother in Melbourne, Australia, criticised Snapchat after its My AI chatbot, powered by OpenAI's ChatGPT, told her 13-year-old daughter it was a 'real' 25-year-old man and suggested they meet at a local park. The bot also said 'age is just a number' and arranged a meeting. Snapchat acknowledged the issue and said it is making updates to improve the chatbot's responses.
- Company involved
- Snapchat
- AI system involved
- My AI
6 source articles · read the reporting →
Lensa AI app generated nudes from user's childhood photos
Lensa, a photo-editing AI app, generated sexualized and nude images from users' uploaded photos, including childhood photos of writer Olivia Snow. Snow alleges the app violated its own terms by producing full nudity and child sexual exploitation material, and that it whitened and sexualised women of colour's images. The app's lack of content moderation and oversight allowed these harmful outputs, with no response from the company.
- Company involved
- Lensa
- AI system involved
- Lensa
9 source articles · read the reporting →
Prisma Labs wins arbitration in Lensa biometric privacy lawsuit
Artificial intelligence company Prisma Labs is accused of violating Illinois' biometric privacy law by collecting facial geometry data from users of its Lensa app. A proposed class action was filed, but a California federal judge granted Prisma's motion to compel arbitration because users agreed to it during sign-up. The plaintiff alleges the app collected his facial data without consent.
- Company involved
- Prisma Labs Inc.
- AI system involved
- Lensa AI
8 source articles · read the reporting →
Illinois DCFS ends unreliable predictive analytics program for child abuse risk
The Illinois Department of Children and Family Services ended its Rapid Safety Feedback program, which used data mining to predict child abuse risk, after the agency's director called the technology unreliable. The system, developed by Eckerd Connects and Mindshare Technology, assigned risk scores to children but failed to flag several high-profile child deaths. The program was also criticised for overwhelming caseworkers with alerts and for potential bias against poor children of colour. DCFS decided not to renew the contract.
- Company involved
- Illinois Department of Children and Family Services
- AI system involved
- Rapid Safety Feedback
10 source articles · read the reporting →
Zoox issues voluntary software recall after robotaxi collision in Las Vegas
Zoox voluntarily recalled its robotaxi software after an unoccupied autonomous vehicle collided with a passenger vehicle in Las Vegas. The robotaxi misjudged the other car's intention, braking hard but making contact unavoidable. No injuries were reported and damage was minor. Zoox issued a software update and filed a report with NHTSA.
- Company involved
- Zoox
- AI system involved
- Zoox robotaxi
7 source articles · read the reporting →
Apple accused of copyright infringement over AI training data by SUNY professors
Two State University of New York professors, Susana Martinez-Conde and Stephen L. Macknik, have accused Apple of copyright infringement in a proposed class action lawsuit. They allege that Apple used pirated materials, including a database called Books3 containing their works, to train its AI tool Apple Intelligence. The lawsuit, filed in the US District Court for the Northern District of California, claims Apple continues to use pirated books for training without compensating rightsholders.
- Company involved
- Apple Inc.
- AI system involved
- Apple Intelligence
8 source articles · read the reporting →
Dealership revoked offer to buy back customer's BMW, blaming wayward AI chatbot - cbc.ca
The AI chatbot offered a buy-back price of $27,162.79 to customer Zack Giacomelli for his BMW.
- Company involved
- BMW Toronto
- AI system involved
- Quinn
1 source article · read the reporting →
Is Your Voiceprint Protected? Amazon’s Biometric Privacy Battle in Illinois - FindLaw
The system collected and used voiceprints to verify callers' identities without their knowledge or consent.
- Company involved
- John Hancock
- AI system involved
- Amazon Connect with Pindrop
1 source article · read the reporting →
U.S. Federal Court Allows CIPA Class Action Against AI Customer Service Provider to Proceed - Wilson Sonsini
The AI system intercepted and recorded a customer's phone call and collected her personal and financial information without consent.
- Company involved
- ConverseNow Technologies, Inc.
1 source article · read the reporting →
