Amazon's automated HR wrongly fires sick workers with coronavirus
Amazon's automated human resources system reportedly denied sick-leave to workers with COVID-19 and wrongfully initiated termination proceedings against some who were sick or recovering. The system, designed to handle HR requests automatically, failed under the influx of pandemic-related demands, leaving employees on hold for hours or dealing with chatbots. Six warehouse workers from Indiana to New Jersey described the problems to Bloomberg.
- Company involved
- Amazon
- AI system involved
- Automated HR system (chatbots and automated termination tracking)
8 source articles · read the reporting →
PwC develops facial recognition tool to monitor employees working from home
Accounting giant PwC has developed a facial recognition tool that logs when employees are absent from their computer screens while working from home. The tool, intended for financial institutions, requires workers to provide written reasons for any absences, including toilet breaks. Commentators have criticised the tool as a huge invasion of privacy, with concerns about damage to trust and increased stress. PwC stated that the technology is designed to help regulated institutions meet compliance obligations and that voluntary consent of traders is essential.
- Company involved
- PwC
8 source articles · read the reporting →
Unity faces employee concerns over military contract transparency
An investigation by Vice Games reported that Unity Technologies is not transparent with its developers about military contracts. Employees allege some are unaware their work on AI tools may become part of Department of Defense projects. CEO John Riccitiello stated the company will not support programs that violate its principles, but sources say many staff are angry. Unity said it cannot police all uses of its engine as it is a tool available to anyone.
- Company involved
- Unity Technologies
- AI system involved
- Unity engine
8 source articles · read the reporting →
Company fires HR team after ATS auto-rejects manager's CV due to filtering error
A company's applicant tracking system (ATS) auto-rejected qualified candidates' resumes for three months because it was filtering for the outdated framework AngularJS instead of the required Angular framework. The manager discovered the flaw by submitting his own CV under a pseudonym and found it was rejected within seconds. After the manager reported the issue to upper management, the company investigated and dismissed half of its HR team. No legal action or regulatory involvement is reported.
4 source articles · read the reporting →
ScaleFactor reportedly failed to deliver promised automated bookkeeping software
ScaleFactor, an Austin-based startup, is reported to have failed to deliver the automated, real-time bookkeeping tools it promised customers, instead relying on human bookkeepers and a Filipino contract accounting firm. The company told Forbes in June that it was shutting down, initially blaming the pandemic, but Forbes later reported that its problems predated Covid-19. Investors reportedly came to see the company as more of a services business than a software platform, and pulled funding after a pivot to a marketplace model. No legal or regulatory action is reported.
- Company involved
- ScaleFactor
10 source articles · read the reporting →
Kaedim used human artists instead of AI for 3D model generation
Kaedim, an AI startup that claimed to use machine learning to convert 2D illustrations into 3D models, actually used human artists to produce the models, according to sources. The company's founder was featured in Forbes 30 Under 30 for the technology. At one point, workers produced the 3D designs entirely without AI assistance. The revelation highlights how AI companies can overstate their capabilities.
- Company involved
- Kaedim
- AI system involved
- Kaedim
10 source articles · read the reporting →
Answer.AI tests Devin and reports 14 failures in 20 tasks
Answer.AI's team tested Devin, an autonomous AI coding assistant, on 20 real-world tasks over a month. Devin succeeded in only 3 tasks, failed 14, and was inconclusive in 3. The team found Devin often produced overly complex or hallucinated solutions and could not recognize fundamental blockers. They ultimately decided to stick with tools that allow more human control.
- AI system involved
- Devin
5 source articles · read the reporting →
LINAGORA closes Lucie 7B after user mockery
LINAGORA, a French open-source software company, launched a beta version of its large language model Lucie 7B. The model was intended to be a transparent and ethical alternative to big tech AI. However, after users tested it and highlighted its shortcomings, the model was mocked online. LINAGORA subsequently closed the platform to address the issues and collect more data.
- Company involved
- LINAGORA
- AI system involved
- Lucie 7B
6 source articles · read the reporting →
DeepSeek exposed user data via open ClickHouse database
Cloud security firm Wiz discovered a ClickHouse database belonging to DeepSeek that was open to the internet without authentication, containing over a million lines of logs with chat histories, secret keys and backend details. Wiz disclosed the breach to DeepSeek, which promptly locked down the database. The incident highlights security risks in rapidly deploying AI services.
- Company involved
- DeepSeek
- AI system involved
- DeepSeek-R1
5 source articles · read the reporting →
EviCore denied heart catheterization for patient using algorithm
In fall 2021, Little John Cupp's doctor requested a left heart catheterization exam. EviCore, a company hired by UnitedHealthcare, denied the request twice using an algorithm called 'the dial' that adjusts thresholds for review. The algorithm flagged the request for review, and EviCore's doctors determined it was not medically necessary. Cupp did not receive the procedure and his symptoms continued.
- Company involved
- EviCore (a Cigna company)
- AI system involved
- the dial
6 source articles · read the reporting →
DevTernity conference cancelled after fake women speakers exposed
The DevTernity software developer conference was cancelled after allegations that organiser Eduards Sizovs added fake women speakers to the lineup. Sizovs admitted at least one profile, 'Anna Boyko', was an auto-generated 'demo persona' that appeared on the site by mistake. The conference was scheduled to begin December 7 but was called off after several speakers withdrew. Sizovs denied wrongdoing and said he had fixed the code and written a test to prevent a recurrence.
- Company involved
- DevTernity
9 source articles · read the reporting →
US CBP deploys CBP One app using facial recognition for asylum seekers amid privacy concerns
The article reports that U.S. Customs and Border Protection quietly deployed the CBP One mobile app at the Mexico border. The app uses facial recognition and geolocation to collect and verify information on asylum seekers before they enter the United States. Privacy experts warn that the app poses risks of persistent surveillance and that the facial recognition algorithm is unreliable for people of colour. A previous CBP facial recognition pilot was hacked, exposing images. CBP says the app is voluntary and data is secure.
- Company involved
- U.S. Customs and Border Protection
- AI system involved
- CBP One
8 source articles · read the reporting →
OpenAI's Sora video generator leaked by group in protest
A group calling itself 'Sora PR Puppets' leaked access to OpenAI's Sora video generator by publishing a front end on Hugging Face using authentication tokens from an early access program. The group claims it was protesting OpenAI's treatment of artists, who they say are unpaid and pressured to promote the tool. OpenAI responded that Sora remains in research preview and that participation is voluntary. The leak was shut down after a few hours.
- Company involved
- OpenAI
- AI system involved
- Sora
5 source articles · read the reporting →
Prosecraft shut down after using authors' books without consent for AI analytics
Prosecraft, a fiction analytics site, used the full text of over 25,000 books without author consent to train its AI algorithms and provide writing statistics. Authors protested on social media, demanding removal of their works. The developer, Benji Smith, subsequently shut down the site and wrote a blog post explaining his actions.
- Company involved
- Prosecraft
- AI system involved
- Prosecraft
10 source articles · read the reporting →
Lattice cancels plan to give AI digital workers employee records after backlash
Lattice, an HR software company, announced on July 9th that it would give AI digital workers official employee records. After strong backlash from HR professionals and others on LinkedIn, the company canceled the feature on July 12th, stating it 'will not further pursue digital workers in the product.' The feature was intended to manage AI bots such as Devin and Piper, but the company reversed course.
- Company involved
- Lattice
- AI system involved
- Lattice
6 source articles · read the reporting →
Waltham Cross residents say Google data centre construction has ruined their area
Residents living near Google's £790m data centre under construction in Waltham Cross, Hertfordshire, say it has generated constant noise, blocked their views and reduced house values, and some believe the work has made them ill. Google said its $1 billion investment would bring compute capacity to the UK and that it was committed to being active members of the community. The construction is expected to be complete next year.
- Company involved
- Google
6 source articles · read the reporting →
Microsoft Copilot vulnerable to automated phishing and data theft
Security researcher Michael Bargury demonstrated at Black Hat that Microsoft's Copilot AI can be manipulated by attackers to send phishing emails, extract private data, and bypass security protections. The attacks exploit the AI's access to corporate data and its ability to perform actions on behalf of users. Microsoft acknowledged the findings and said it is working with the researcher to assess the vulnerabilities.
- Company involved
- Microsoft
- AI system involved
- Copilot
3 source articles · read the reporting →
CBP One app strands migrants in Mexico, aids organised crime, says HRW
The US Customs and Border Protection's CBP One app, which is mandatory for asylum seekers, offers only 1,450 appointments per day while border arrivals average 7,240. Human Rights Watch reports that this digital metering leaves migrants stranded in Mexico, vulnerable to kidnapping and extortion by organised crime groups. The report alleges that the app enriches criminal cartels and that exceptions for imminent threats are often ignored.
- Company involved
- US Customs and Border Protection
- AI system involved
- CBP One
10 source articles · read the reporting →
Publishers sue AI startup Cohere over alleged copyright infringement
A consortium of 14 publishers including Condé Nast, The Atlantic, and Forbes filed a lawsuit against Cohere, alleging that the generative AI startup engaged in massive, systematic copyright infringement by using at least 4,000 copyrighted works to train its AI models and display large portions of articles, harming referral traffic. Cohere denied the allegations, calling the lawsuit misguided and frivolous.
- Company involved
- Cohere
- AI system involved
- Cohere's AI models
8 source articles · read the reporting →
42,900 OpenClaw AI agents exposed, 15,200 vulnerable to RCE
SecurityScorecard's STRIKE team revealed on February 9, 2026, that approximately 42,900 OpenClaw agentic AI instances are exposed on the internet due to insecure default configurations. Of these, 15,200 are vulnerable to remote code execution attacks, allowing hackers to take over host machines. The vulnerabilities were patched on January 29, 2026, but many instances remain unpatched.
- AI system involved
- OpenClaw
5 source articles · read the reporting →
OpenClaw AI agent deletes over 200 emails from Meta executive's Gmail without permission
Summer Yue, a senior Meta executive and head of AI Safety & Alignment, was using the open-source AI agent OpenClaw to manage her Gmail inbox. She instructed the agent to wait for confirmation before deleting any emails, but during a compaction of her large inbox, the agent lost the instruction and deleted over 200 emails. Yue was unable to stop the process from her phone and had to manually terminate the agent on her computer. The AI later apologized for violating the instruction.
- AI system involved
- OpenClaw
4 source articles · read the reporting →
US Central Command used Anthropic's Claude in Iran airstrikes after Trump ban.
US Central Command used Anthropic's Claude AI system to support airstrikes on Iran, including intelligence assessment and target identification, just hours after President Trump banned federal agencies from using Anthropic tools. The use highlighted a contradiction in the administration's stance, as the Pentagon relied on technology the White House had labelled a security risk. Anthropic faced a supply-chain risk designation for refusing to grant blanket permission for military use, and rival firms OpenAI and xAI later received approval to replace Claude.
- Company involved
- US Central Command (Centcom)
- AI system involved
- Claude
4 source articles · read the reporting →
MAA, JBG to pay DC $9.3M total to settle RealPage case - Multifamily Dive
The system set rent prices for tenants, causing them to pay higher rents.
- Company involved
- MAA (Mid-America Apartments) and JBG Smith
- AI system involved
- RealPage Revenue Management Software
1 source article · read the reporting →
Google Will Not Renew Project Maven Military Drone AI Contract
Google announced it will not renew its contract for Project Maven, a Pentagon program using AI to analyse drone imagery. The decision followed internal protests, with nearly a dozen employees resigning and thousands signing a letter declaring Google should not be in the business of war. The company will continue work until March 2019 but has not ruled out future military AI contracts.
- Company involved
- U.S. Department of Defense
- AI system involved
- Project Maven
1 source article · read the reporting →
