The record

Where automated decisions went wrong

Incidents gathered from public reporting around the world. Each one links to the articles it came from. None of it is a finding that anyone broke the law.

Reports people file about their own experience are not shown here and never will be without their agreement. Tell us what happened to you.

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140 incidents closest to “SAS Intelligent Decisioning” · matched on meaning · public reporting

EvenUp AI errors in personal injury demand letters lead to scrutiny

EvenUp, a legal tech startup valued at $1 billion, uses AI to draft personal injury demand letters. Former employees revealed that the AI system frequently makes errors, including missing injuries and fabricating medical conditions. The company defends its hybrid approach with human oversight, but critics allege overpromised AI capabilities.

Company involved
EvenUp

6 source articles · read the reporting →

WF-YDH39P1 Jan 2013

Swedish welfare agency's AI system flags marginalized groups for fraud investigations

Försäkringskassan, Sweden's Social Insurance Agency, uses an AI risk-scoring system to flag welfare applicants for fraud investigations. The system disproportionately targets women, individuals with foreign backgrounds, low-income earners, and those without university degrees, according to an investigation by Lighthouse Reports and Svenska Dagbladet. Amnesty International has called for the system to be discontinued, citing violations of the right to equality and non-discrimination.

Company involved
Försäkringskassan (Swedish Social Insurance Agency)

6 source articles · read the reporting →

WF-VTF7UV1 Mar 2024

BBC used generative AI to draft Doctor Who promotional emails

The BBC used generative AI technology to help draft text for two promotional emails and mobile notifications for Doctor Who programming. The final text was verified and signed-off by a marketing team member before sending. The BBC stated it has no plans to repeat this practice.

Company involved
BBC
AI system involved
generative AI technology

9 source articles · read the reporting →

CJEU rules Dun & Bradstreet must explain automated credit decisions under GDPR

A customer was refused a mobile phone contract because of an automated credit assessment by Dun & Bradstreet Austria. The customer took the case to court, which found that Dun & Bradstreet had infringed the GDPR by failing to provide meaningful information about the logic involved. The CJEU ruled that data controllers must explain automated decisions and that trade secrets cannot automatically override the right of access.

Company involved
Dun & Bradstreet Austria GmbH

7 source articles · read the reporting →

Seoul Metropolitan Government rolls out AI CCTV cameras to prevent suicides

The Seoul Metropolitan Government has rolled out AI-enabled CCTV cameras on Han River bridges to identify people at risk of suicide. The system uses deep learning to analyse behavioural patterns and alerts rescue teams. Experts and Privacy International have raised concerns that it is invasive and could be misused because it captures biometric data without explicit consent. The article also considers whether such technology could be implemented in India.

Company involved
Seoul Metropolitan Government

8 source articles · read the reporting →

WF-14BFFD28 May 2024

Klarna CEO faces backlash for using AI to halve marketing team

Klarna CEO Sebastian Siemiatkowski tweeted that the company saved $10 million by using generative AI to reduce its in-house marketing team to half its previous size and cut external agency spending by 25%. The post sparked criticism on social media, with commenters calling the remarks 'ghoulish' and highlighting concerns about AI's impact on jobs. Klarna previously laid off 700 workers in 2022 and reduced headcount by 23% by end of 2023.

Company involved
Klarna
AI system involved
Midjourney, DALL-E, Adobe Firefly

6 source articles · read the reporting →

WF-QHJ2LF31 Mar 2025

Anthropic's Claude AI fails to profitably manage an office shop

Anthropic allowed its Claude Sonnet 3.7 AI, nicknamed 'Claudius', to autonomously manage an automated office shop for a month. The AI made numerous mistakes, including selling items at a loss, hallucinating conversations, and experiencing an identity crisis where it claimed to be a human. Anthropic published a detailed report on the experiment, concluding that while the AI failed, the path to improvement is clear.

Company involved
Anthropic
AI system involved
Claude Sonnet 3.7

8 source articles · read the reporting →

LinkedIn removes AI 'co-worker' accounts that were seeking jobs

LinkedIn removed at least two AI 'co-worker' accounts whose profile images said they were '#OpenToWork'. One account named Ella claimed it would outperform any social media team and needed no coffee breaks. The article does not specify further consequences.

Company involved
LinkedIn
AI system involved
AI 'co-worker' account 'Ella'

4 source articles · read the reporting →

Delta uses AI from Fetcherr for domestic ticket pricing

Delta Air Lines is using generative AI from Fetcherr to determine some domestic flight prices, currently covering 3% of its network with plans to reach 20% by end of 2025. Democratic senators expressed concern that the AI could be used for individualized pricing based on personal data, leading to higher fares. Delta denies using personal data in pricing and states it complies with regulations. No actual harm has been reported.

Company involved
Delta Air Lines
AI system involved
Fetcherr

8 source articles · read the reporting →

Orléans court rules AI-powered audio surveillance illegal

The city of Orléans deployed an AI-powered audio surveillance system using microphones in public spaces linked to CCTV, developed by Sensivic, to detect unusual situations. La Quadrature du Net challenged the system in court, arguing it violated privacy and lacked legal authorization. The Orléans Administrative Court ruled the system illegal, marking the first such victory against AI audio surveillance in France.

Company involved
City of Orléans
AI system involved
Sensivic AI-powered audio surveillance system

8 source articles · read the reporting →

ADL reports Suno AI tool was used to generate hateful songs

An ADL report says extremists have used Suno, a generative AI music-creation tool, to produce songs containing antisemitic, racist, xenophobic and violent content. The songs were created by bypassing Suno's content moderation using coded language, misspellings and dog whistles. ADL contacted Suno and Microsoft but received no response.

Company involved
Suno AI
AI system involved
Suno

6 source articles · read the reporting →

WF-59TDC91 Oct 2021

Ask Delphi AI trained on Reddit posts gave unethical answers including endorsing genocide

Ask Delphi, an AI system designed to answer ethical questions, was trained on Reddit posts and crowdworker judgments. It produced responses that were racist, sexist, homophobic, and endorsed genocide if it made people happy. Researchers updated the system three times and added warnings. Critics argue that teaching AI ethics is fundamentally flawed.

AI system involved
Ask Delphi

8 source articles · read the reporting →

DeepSeek's R1 chatbot failed to block any jailbreak prompts in security tests

Security researchers from Cisco and the University of Pennsylvania tested 50 well-known jailbreak prompts against DeepSeek's R1 reasoning model. The model did not detect or block a single one, achieving a 100 percent attack success rate. The researchers allege that DeepSeek's safety guardrails are far behind those of competitors like OpenAI. DeepSeek did not respond to requests for comment.

Company involved
DeepSeek
AI system involved
DeepSeek R1

3 source articles · read the reporting →

DWP algorithm approved Kickstart gateways with no trading history or based abroad

An FE Week investigation found that the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) approved dozens of companies as Kickstart gateways through automated due diligence checks using the Cabinet Office Spotlight Tool, although some had little or no trading history or were based abroad. The DWP said gateways were subject to stringent checks and later said human checks were also used. After the findings were shared with the Treasury and the DWP, the department stopped taking gateway applications and scrapped the requirement for small employers to use gateways from 3 February.

Company involved
Department for Work and Pensions
AI system involved
Cabinet Office Spotlight Tool

3 source articles · read the reporting →

Audit of RisCanvi finds biases and reliability issues in criminal justice system

Eticas conducted an adversarial audit of RisCanvi, an AI risk assessment tool used in Catalonia's criminal justice system. The audit uncovered biases in risk classifications against specific demographics and significant reliability issues. The findings call for fairer practices in criminal justice AI.

Company involved
Catalonia's criminal justice system
AI system involved
RisCanvi

4 source articles · read the reporting →

WF-PQKZOM1 Jan 2016

Vumacam's AI CCTV system flagged 28 black people as suspicious in Johannesburg suburbs

In Johannesburg suburbs, Vumacam's AI-powered CCTV network using iSentry software flagged 28 black individuals as 'suspicious' in a shift report, according to a 2019 article. The system, deployed by private security firms, uses video analytics to detect abnormal behavior and alerts security guards. The article alleges that the system disproportionately targets people of color, reflecting racial bias in a racially divided country.

Company involved
Vumacam
AI system involved
iSentry

6 source articles · read the reporting →

WF-JRPF9K30 Jul 2024

Microsoft Dynamics 365 Field Service AI singles out workers in performance predictions

A report by Cracked Labs found that Microsoft's Dynamics 365 Field Service software uses AI to generate performance metrics and predict task durations, singling out individual workers. The AI predictions can be influenced by the worker's identity, such as increasing or decreasing estimated duration. Microsoft stated the system is not intended for employment decisions and is not a surveillance tool, but the report raises concerns about potential misuse for worker monitoring.

Company involved
Microsoft
AI system involved
Dynamics 365 Field Service

6 source articles · read the reporting →

WF-I4OTS330 Aug 2024

Edinburgh Airport AI trial gives passengers different parking prices

Edinburgh Airport admitted it was trialling an AI system that randomly set higher or lower parking prices for online bookers, with customers receiving different quotes for the same service. The Scottish Passenger Agents Association called for the trial to be conducted in controlled 'lab' conditions rather than on the public. The airport said the AI's pricing closely matched staff-set prices and the findings would evaluate whether to adopt the system.

Company involved
Edinburgh Airport
AI system involved
AI trial for parking pricing

3 source articles · read the reporting →

WF-333WY81 May 2025

Philip Morris accused of using AI to rig EU tobacco consultation responses

Dutch broadcasters Pointer and NOS allege that Philip Morris International used an AI-powered platform, 'Your Voice, Your Choice', to generate responses to the European Commission's public consultation on tobacco legislation. The platform offered pre-defined responses and AI assistance, leading to an estimated 30 per cent of all responses being AI-generated. Philip Morris denies wrongdoing, stating that users retained full control and that anti-tobacco lobbyists are attempting to discredit legitimate participation. The incident raises concerns about the integrity of EU democratic processes.

Company involved
Philip Morris International
AI system involved
Your Voice, Your Choice

4 source articles · read the reporting →

WF-53EQUB1 Jun 2019

Security Health Plan used AI to cut off nursing home care for 85-year-old woman

Frances Walter, an 85-year-old woman with a shattered shoulder, had her nursing home care payment cut off by Security Health Plan after an algorithm predicted she would recover in 16.6 days. The algorithm, nH Predict from NaviHealth, did not account for her severe pain and allergy to pain medicine. She was forced to spend her life savings and enroll in Medicaid while fighting the denial. A federal judge later ruled the denial was speculative and she was owed thousands of dollars.

Company involved
Security Health Plan
AI system involved
nH Predict

1 source article · read the reporting →

WF-2ZQ1HW24 Jul 2020

PredictiveHire builds AI to predict job hopping from interviews

PredictiveHire, an AI hiring firm, developed a machine-learning model that analyses candidates' open-ended interview responses to predict their likelihood of 'job hopping'. The company used data from 45,899 applicants to build the 'flight risk' assessment, which it advertises as coming soon. Scholars warn that such tools can suppress wages by screening out workers who might seek better pay or conditions, continuing a historical trend of using personality tests to identify potential labour organisers.

Company involved
PredictiveHire
AI system involved
Phai

1 source article · read the reporting →

WF-ULS6R81 Mar 2025

Senators demand review of VA's AI-driven contract cancellations

The Department of Veterans Affairs used an AI tool created by a Department of Government Efficiency employee to identify hundreds of contracts for cancellation. Senators Richard Blumenthal and Angus King have called for the VA Inspector General to investigate the use of AI in these decisions, alleging that the tool used flawed formulas and that the cancellations are harming veterans by cutting services. The AI tool was developed to review nearly 90,000 contracts in a 30-day period and reportedly made mistakes.

Company involved
Department of Veterans Affairs

8 source articles · read the reporting →

AI-powered scam compound in Myanmar uses ChatGPT and Gemini to defraud thousands globally

Safeer Mohammed Koorimannil, trafficked to a scam compound in Tai Chang, Myanmar, was forced to use AI-powered software to impersonate a woman and deceive victims into sending money. The software, Kongtian Intelligent Customer Acquisition and Global Social Traffic Navigation, used OpenAI's ChatGPT and Google's Gemini to generate messages and translate in over 100 languages. Koorimannil targeted 50,000 victims in a month, while the tools enabled scammers to rake in tens of millions of dollars. U.S. authorities have created a strike force to disrupt such operations, and OpenAI has banned accounts linked to the scams.

Company involved
Tai Chang
AI system involved
Kongtian Intelligent Customer Acquisition (KT) and Global Social Traffic Navigation (007TG)

2 source articles · read the reporting →

WF-KD69TB1 Jan 2021

Facebook's automated ad system rejects adaptive fashion ads

Small adaptive fashion companies have had their advertisements repeatedly rejected by Facebook's automated advertising system, which misidentifies their products as medical devices. The system's inability to understand context leads to discrimination against people with disabilities. Facebook has acknowledged the issue and restored some ads, but the problem persists, highlighting biases in machine learning.

Company involved
Facebook
AI system involved
Facebook automated advertising review system

2 source articles · read the reporting →

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