Where automated decisions went wrong

Condé Nast accuses Perplexity of plagiarism in cease-and-desist letter

Condé Nast, the media conglomerate, sent a cease-and-desist letter to AI search startup Perplexity, accusing it of plagiarism for using content from its publications in AI-generated responses without permission. The letter demands that Perplexity stop using the content. Perplexity has been criticized for ignoring robots.txt and scraping content. The incident highlights ongoing tensions between publishers and AI companies over unauthorized use of content.

Company involved

Perplexity

AI system involved

Perplexity

4 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 →

Thomson Reuters wins copyright lawsuit against AI startup Ross Intelligence

In 2020, Thomson Reuters filed a copyright lawsuit against legal AI startup Ross Intelligence, alleging that Ross reproduced materials from its Westlaw legal research service. In February 2025, a US District Court judge ruled in Thomson Reuters' favor, finding that Ross infringed copyright and that fair use did not apply. Ross Intelligence had shut down in 2021 due to litigation costs.

Company involved

Ross Intelligence

AI system involved

Ross Intelligence

4 source articles · read the reporting →

Dutch DPA fines Clearview AI €30.5 million for GDPR violations

The Dutch Data Protection Authority fined Clearview AI €30.5 million for creating an illegal database of biometric codes scraped from social media without consent. The regulator accused the company of failing to inform individuals about how their data is used and continuing violations after investigation. Clearview AI denies the allegations, stating it has no presence in the Netherlands or EU and that the fine is unenforceable.

Company involved

Clearview AI

AI system involved

Clearview AI facial recognition database

7 source articles · read the reporting →

Dutch probation service's OXREC algorithm flawed, leading to incorrect recidivism risk assessments

The Dutch Inspectorate of Justice and Security (Inspectie JenV) published a report finding that the probation service's (Reclassering) OXREC algorithm contains serious flaws, including swapped formulas and incorrect numbers, causing about a quarter of risk assessments to be wrong. The algorithm, used since 2018 for about 44,000 cases per year, also uses variables that can lead to discrimination, such as neighborhood score and income. The Inspectorate recommended immediate correction or temporary suspension. The probation service announced it would temporarily stop using OXREC.

Company involved

Reclassering Nederland

AI system involved

OXREC

4 source articles · read the reporting →

Tyrone Walker v. Juliane Pierre (CA Massachusetts): AI-hallucinated content in court filing, Struck from the record

The AI generated nonexistent legal citations that were included in a court filing, causing the court to strike them from the appellant's brief.

1 source article · read the reporting →

Pega's Hidden AI Tool Listens To US Bank Calls, Suit Says - Law360

The system secretly recorded customer service calls, affecting bank customers.

Company involved

U.S. Bancorp

1 source article · read the reporting →

TransUnion AI tenant screening denied 75-year-old man apartment due to mistaken littering conviction

Chris Robinson, then 75, applied for a senior living apartment in California. The property manager used an AI screening program from TransUnion, which assigned him a low score based on a mistaken conviction for littering that belonged to a different person with the same name in Texas. Robinson lost the apartment and his application fee. A federal class-action lawsuit against TransUnion moved toward a $11.5 million settlement in 2023.

10 source articles · read the reporting →

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 →

NHS faces legal action over Palantir data contract extension

The NHS is being taken to court by campaign group Open Democracy over its contract with data firm Palantir. The legal action alleges that the extension of Palantir's involvement in analysing NHS patient data for pandemic response and beyond lacked a proper Data Protection Impact Assessment. The contract, initially an emergency response, was extended for two years at a cost of £23.5m. The case is pending.

Company involved

NHS

AI system involved

Palantir data analysis platform

10 source articles · read the reporting →

Las Vegas police used unsuitable facial recognition images in nearly half of searches

The Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department (LVMPD) used 'non-suitable' probe images in 451 of 924 facial recognition searches in 2019, greatly increasing the risk of false identifications. The system, supplied by Vigilant Solutions, returned likely matches in only 18% of those searches, yet led to arrests in at least 73 cases. Critics and researchers warn this practice heightens the chance of wrongful arrests, and one defence attorney said he was never informed facial recognition was used to identify his client.

Company involved

Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department

AI system involved

Vigilant Solutions facial recognition system

1 source article · read the reporting →

California AG declares out-of-state ALPR data sharing unlawful

California Attorney General Rob Bonta issued guidance confirming that sharing automated license plate reader (ALPR) data with out-of-state or federal agencies violates state law SB 34. The decision follows years of advocacy by EFF and the ACLU, who demonstrated through public records that many California law enforcement agencies were sharing data with hundreds of external agencies, including ICE and CBP. The guidance mandates that all California agencies review their data sharing and cut off access to out-of-state and federal entities.

Company involved

California law enforcement agencies

AI system involved

Automated license plate readers (ALPRs)

1 source article · read the reporting →

Macy's and Sunglass Hut facial recognition misidentifies man, leading to wrongful jailing

Harvey Eugene Murphy Jr was misidentified by facial recognition software used by Sunglass Hut and Macy's as the perpetrator of an armed robbery. He was arrested and jailed, where he alleges he was beaten and raped. His alibi was later confirmed and charges were dropped. He is suing the companies for $10 million in damages.

Company involved

Macy's and EssilorLuxottica

3 source articles · read the reporting →

State Farm accused of algorithmic bias against Black homeowners

A class action lawsuit filed in Chicago alleges State Farm's automated claims processing system discriminates against Black policyholders. The suit claims Black customers are more likely to face additional paperwork and longer waits for claim approval than white customers, citing data from 800 homeowners. State Farm has stated it takes the filing seriously and is committed to fair treatment, while the plaintiffs seek to enjoin the current system and require audits.

Company involved

State Farm

AI system involved

automated claims processing system

2 source articles · read the reporting →

Herbert Brooks v. Lowes Home Centers LLC (W.D. Louisiana): AI-hallucinated content in court filing, Monetary Sanction; CLE

Generated a legal brief with hallucinated case law, filed in court.

AI system involved

Claude

1 source article · read the reporting →

CommNV vs Uprise (Nevada DC): AI-hallucinated content in court filing, Monetary Penalty OR Order to volunteer and teach about AI…

The AI system generated fabricated legal citations that were included in a court filing, misleading the court and opposing counsel.

Company involved

Christopher Day

1 source article · read the reporting →

DOJ, Pinnacle reach settlement in RealPage case - Yahoo Finance

The system recommended rent prices to landlords, affecting renters' housing costs.

Company involved

Pinnacle Property Management Services

AI system involved

RealPage

1 source article · read the reporting →

Hospital sues insurer over use of AI to deny $2M in claims - HealthExec

A hospital is suing Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas City, alleging the insurer's AI flagged physicians' diagnoses as clinically invalid and led to the denial of about $2 million in claims.

Company involved

Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas City

AI system involved

Apixio

1 source article · read the reporting →

$30M Equifax hard inquiry dispute class action settlement - Top Class Actions

A class action, settled for $30 million, alleged that Equifax automatically rejected consumers' disputes of hard inquiries on their credit reports, sending a form letter instead of investigating.

Company involved

Equifax Information Services LLC

1 source article · read the reporting →

Fort Myers man falsely arrested; lawsuit says AI program is to blame - WINK News

Police falsely arrested an innocent man due to a facial recognition misidentification

Company involved

Jacksonville Beach Police Department

AI system involved

FACESNXT

1 source article · read the reporting →

Lawsuit Says UnitedHealth Used AI With a 90% Error Rate to Deny Care - Yahoo

Denied post-acute care coverage to elderly Medicare Advantage patients

Company involved

UnitedHealth Group

AI system involved

nH Predict

1 source article · read the reporting →

Lawsuit claims facial recognition program led to wrongful arrest - FOX 2

Identified Christopher Gatlin as a suspect in an assault, leading to his arrest and 17 months in jail.

Company involved

St. Louis County Police Department

AI system involved

Rekognition

1 source article · read the reporting →

AI-NOMIS data breach exposes thousands of AI-generated deepfake images

Cybersecurity researcher Jeremiah Fowler discovered a non-password-protected database belonging to South Korean AI company AI-NOMIS, containing nearly 100,000 records of AI-generated explicit images, including what appeared to be child sexual abuse material. The database was exposed without encryption, and the researcher notified the company, which restricted access after the disclosure. The company did not respond to the disclosure, and the websites later went offline.

Company involved

AI-NOMIS

AI system involved

GenNomis

5 source articles · read the reporting →

Pearl Gardner v. Nationstar Mortgage LLC (D. Arizona): AI-hallucinated content in court filing, Bar Referral

Pro Se Litigant | D. Arizona | State(s): USA. AI tool: Clearpoint. Problem: Fabricated: Case Law. Consequence: Bar Referral.

1 source article · read the reporting →