Princeton Review charges higher SAT prep fees to Asian Americans
A ProPublica study found that Princeton Review's geographically-determined pricing system charges Asian American students almost twice as likely as other ethnicities to pay the highest prices for online SAT tutoring. The system sets prices based on location, with higher prices in areas like New York City where Asian Americans are concentrated. Princeton Review stated that prices reflect local costs and competition, but the disparity raises concerns about racial discrimination in automated pricing.
- Company involved
- Princeton Review
7 source articles · read the reporting →
New Records Show Medicare WISeR AI Prior Authorization Model Causing Inappropriate Denials of Care - Medicare Rights Center
The system denied or delayed prior authorization for medical procedures, affecting Medicare beneficiaries in six states.
- Company involved
- Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services
- AI system involved
- WISeR
1 source article · read the reporting →
UK prison risk algorithm may embed racial bias, experts warn
The Ministry of Justice developed a digital tool to categorize prisoners, which experts and advocacy groups warn could automate and embed racism. The tool uses intelligence data that may reflect existing bias, potentially leading to disproportionate categorization of BAME prisoners. The MoJ claims no evidence of discrimination, but critics question the small trial sample and lack of transparency.
- Company involved
- Ministry of Justice
- AI system involved
- Digital prisoner categorisation tool
5 source articles · read the reporting →
Citizens Advice finds ethnicity penalty in car insurance pricing
Citizens Advice conducted exploratory research into car insurance pricing and found that people of colour may be paying £250 more per year than White people. The research suggests that areas with large communities of colour may be identified as more risky by algorithms, even when objective risk factors are controlled. Citizens Advice has called on the Financial Conduct Authority to investigate the issue.
9 source articles · 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 →
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 →
Pasco Sheriff's Office used algorithm to target potential future criminals and schoolchildren
The Pasco Sheriff's Office operates an intelligence-led policing programme that uses an algorithm to identify people who might break the law based on criminal histories and social networks. Deputies are sent to the homes of those flagged, even without evidence of a crime, and former deputies allege they were ordered to make targets' lives miserable. The agency also keeps a list of more than 400 schoolchildren predicted to 'fall into a life of crime', built from data such as grades and child welfare records, without informing the children or their parents. Civil liberties groups are considering lawsuits and public advocacy campaigns, and experts have called the programmes 'morally repugnant'.
- Company involved
- Pasco Sheriff's Office
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 →
Google contractors targeted homeless people for Pixel 4 facial recognition data
Google hired Randstad to collect facial data to train the Pixel 4's face recognition system. Contractors allegedly targeted homeless people and unaware students, using deceptive tactics such as calling it a "selfie game" and offering $5 without informing subjects they were being recorded. Google suspended the research program and opened an investigation following the report.
- Company involved
- Google
- AI system involved
- Pixel 4 facial recognition
1 source article · read the reporting →
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 →
Insurer drops California homeowner after aerial photo analysis
Cindy Picos was dropped by her home insurer after the company used aerial photos to assess her roof. The insurer refused to let her see the photos, and she believes her roof is in fine shape. The incident highlights the growing use of drones and aerial imagery by insurers to inspect properties without in-person visits.
2 source articles · read the reporting →
Kmart's facial recognition system for refund fraud found unlawful by Privacy Commissioner
Kmart Australia deployed facial recognition technology in 28 stores from June 2020 to July 2022, capturing biometric data of every customer entering the stores and those at returns counters to detect refund fraud. The system collected sensitive information without notifying customers or obtaining their consent. The Australian Privacy Commissioner found that Kmart breached the Privacy Act, as the exemption for unlawful activity did not justify the indiscriminate and disproportionate collection of biometric data from thousands of individuals. Kmart has ceased using the system and cooperated with the investigation.
- Company involved
- Kmart Australia Limited
7 source articles · read the reporting →
Broward College student flagged by Honorlock and accused of cheating
A 17-year-old Black student at Broward College was flagged by Honorlock, a remote proctoring system, during an online biology exam in February 2022. Her professor reviewed the recording and accused her of academic dishonesty for looking down and away from the screen; the college found her responsible for noncompliance and gave her a zero and a warning. The student says she was only thinking and fidgeting, and the article reports that the video is ambiguous. Honorlock says it does not definitively identify cheaters and the final decision rests with the school.
- Company involved
- Broward College
- AI system involved
- Honorlock
2 source articles · read the reporting →
US Secret Service bought access to cellphone location data
The US Secret Service signed a contract to access Locate X, a service that aggregates location data from phone apps and allows law enforcement to track devices without a warrant. The contract with Babel Street was worth about $36,000 and ran from 2017 to 2018. A former employee said the Secret Service used Locate X in 2018 to seize illegal credit card skimmers at petrol stations. Lawmakers and civil liberties advocates criticised the practice, and Senator Ron Wyden introduced a bill to ban such purchases.
- Company involved
- United States Secret Service
- AI system involved
- Locate X
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 →
U.S. hospitals' race-based eGFR calculation delayed Black kidney patients' transplants
For years, U.S. transplant hospitals used a race-based version of the eGFR equation to estimate Black patients' kidney function. The adjustment inflated Black patients' readings, delaying their referral to the kidney transplant waitlist and leaving some to die or deteriorate on dialysis. After years of advocacy, the United Network for Organ Sharing prohibited the race-based calculation in 2022 and required transplant programmes to revise affected patients' waiting times.
- Company involved
- U.S. transplant hospitals
- AI system involved
- eGFR (estimated glomerular filtration rate)
2 source articles · read the reporting →
Arizona Unemployment Applicants Required to Submit Facial Recognition
People applying for unemployment benefits in Arizona must verify their identity via facial recognition software provided by ID.me. If the system fails to match a selfie to a photo ID, applicants can be denied benefits unless they successfully complete a video chat with a referee. A class-action lawsuit filed in June 2021 alleges that the practice violates due process rights and discriminates against people of colour.
- Company involved
- Arizona Department of Economic Security
- AI system involved
- ID.me
1 source article · read the reporting →
Zillow faces securities class action over Zillow Offers wind-down
Zillow Group, Inc. is accused of making false and misleading statements to investors about its Zillow Offers home-flipping business. The company allegedly failed to disclose that its forecasting algorithm was unable to predict home prices accurately, leading to a $304 million inventory write-down and a decision to wind down the business. Investors who bought shares between February 10 and November 2, 2021, suffered losses when the stock price dropped after the announcement. A class action lawsuit has been filed in Washington federal court.
- Company involved
- Zillow Group, Inc.
- AI system involved
- Zillow Offers
10 source articles · read the reporting →
Ring's AI pet-search feature draws privacy backlash after Super Bowl ad
Ring, an Amazon company, promoted its Search Party feature in a Super Bowl advertisement, saying its AI helps reunite dog owners with missing pets. Critics said the feature, which is enabled by default, turns Ring doorbells into a mass surveillance network and could easily be adapted to track people. Ring said it had reunited 99 dogs in the US in 90 days and that customers keep full control of their data.
- Company involved
- Ring
- AI system involved
- Search Party
5 source articles · read the reporting →
Sainsbury's ejects man misidentified by facial recognition software
Warren Rajah was told to leave a Sainsbury's supermarket in Elephant and Castle, London, after staff incorrectly identified him as an offender flagged by Facewatch facial recognition software. The error occurred at the human verification stage, not the technology itself. Sainsbury's apologised and offered a £75 shopping voucher, and Facewatch confirmed Rajah was not on its database. Rajah criticised the lack of explanation and recourse, and expressed concern for vulnerable customers.
- Company involved
- Sainsbury's
- AI system involved
- Facewatch
5 source articles · 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 →
Where does SpaceXAI rank for air pollution in Shelby County? - WREG.com
The data center's operations emitted air pollutants affecting nearby residents
- Company involved
- SpaceXAI
- AI system involved
- Colossus 1
1 source article · read the reporting →
Allegheny County child neglect screening algorithm shows racial disparities
The Allegheny Family Screening Tool, an algorithm used to screen child neglect reports, has been found to flag a disproportionate number of Black children for mandatory investigation compared to white children. A technical glitch also presented wrong risk scores for over two years. County officials say social workers can override the algorithm and that the glitch has been fixed, but critics argue the tool hardens racial disparities and lacks transparency.
- Company involved
- Allegheny County Department of Human Services
- AI system involved
- Allegheny Family Screening Tool
10 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 →
