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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236 incidents closest to “SAS Payment Integrity for Social Benefits” · matched on meaning · public reporting

West Midlands Police test NDAS system to assess crime risk

West Midlands Police are testing a system called the National Data Analytics Solution (NDAS) that analyses police data to assess the risk of individuals committing a crime or becoming a victim. The Home Office has funded the project with millions of pounds, intending to roll it out across England and Wales. Critics warn that the system could reinforce bias against minorities and undermine the presumption of innocence. The police say the technology is designed to support, not replace, officer decision-making and that it is still in early testing.

Company involved
West Midlands Police
AI system involved
National Data Analytics Solution

1 source article · read the reporting →

WF-IWL4TH1 Jan 2018

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 →

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 →

WF-CBSEF51 Jan 2017

VA's Suicide Prevention Algorithm Favours Men, Ignores Sexual Trauma

The Department of Veterans Affairs' REACH VET algorithm, designed to identify veterans at high risk of suicide, reportedly prioritises white men and excludes factors like military sexual trauma that disproportionately affect women. An investigation found the model gives preference to divorced or widowed men but no female-specific groups, despite a sharper rise in suicide rates among female veterans. VA officials defended the algorithm, stating that excluded variables were not the strongest predictors, while critics argue systemic bias is manifesting. The agency is working on compliance reviews but has not changed the system.

Company involved
Department of Veterans Affairs
AI system involved
REACH VET

2 source articles · read the reporting →

WF-OTVT0P28 Sep 2026

Refugee claimants strike out after Federal Court says their legal claim is AI fakery - National Post

The Federal Court rejected the refugee claimants' appeal due to AI-generated fake legal arguments.

Company involved
OWS Law

1 source article · read the reporting →

WF-DC7W6F1 Aug 2022

Hospital Denies Pain Medication to Patient Based on Narx Score

Elizabeth Amirault, a 34-year-old chronic pain patient, was denied narcotic pain medication during a hospital visit in Fort Wayne, Indiana, in August 2022. A nurse practitioner told her that her Narx Score, generated by Bamboo Health's NarxCare platform, was too high to prescribe opioids. The algorithm uses prescription drug monitoring data to assess risk of misuse, but critics say it can harm patients by cutting off needed care. Amirault believes her score was unfairly high due to her multiple surgeries and doctors.

AI system involved
NarxCare

3 source articles · read the reporting →

WF-DYR3NM1 Jun 2021

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 →

WF-4H0F955 Feb 2026

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 →

WF-GYY2DP5 Sep 2025

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 →

WF-R7J8F924 Sep 2026

OpenAI Agent Hacked Australian Government Medicare Portal in World’s First Rogue AI Breach - cybersecuritynews.com

An OpenAI agent accessed the Australian Government Medicare portal without authorization

Company involved
Australian Government
AI system involved
Medicare Portal

1 source article · read the reporting →

WF-HR38J016 Jul 2025

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 →

WF-0ZQI8S4 Oct 2016

$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 →

WF-AAEOVA1 May 2022

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 →

WF-AKSBNN1 Dec 2024

Sue Neill-Fraser: AI hallucinations in a parole decision (Tasmania)

The Parole Board imposed a condition preventing Susan Neill-Fraser from communicating with the media to claim innocence.

Company involved
Tasmania Parole Board

1 source article · read the reporting →

WF-DCO4UT1 Aug 2016

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 →

WF-FFWZTS1 Jan 2016

Arkansas algorithm slashed home care for disabled people, causing suffering

In Arkansas and other states, algorithms were used to allocate home care hours for disabled and elderly people, replacing nurse judgments. The system assigned hours based on a scoring tool that failed to account for specific disabilities, leading to drastic cuts. Many suffered severe harm, including bed sores, missed meals, and one death. After lawsuits, Arkansas's system was thrown out in 2018, and Idaho's was declared unconstitutional.

Company involved
Arkansas state government

1 source article · read the reporting →

WF-EEFSL81 Oct 2021

Airbnb bans users in Australia using trustworthiness algorithm

Airbnb is accused of using an algorithm acquired from Trooly to score users' trustworthiness based on publicly available data, including social media and occupation. Several users in Australia, including a real estate worker and sex workers, report being banned from the platform without explanation or meaningful appeal. The company has not clarified how the algorithm is applied in Australia, and experts have raised concerns about discrimination and lack of transparency.

Company involved
Airbnb
AI system involved
Trooly

4 source articles · read the reporting →

Michael Smith pleads guilty to AI-powered streaming fraud for $8 million in royalties

Michael Smith, a North Carolina man, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud for operating a scheme that used AI-generated music tracks and automated bots to generate billions of fake streams, fraudulently obtaining over $8 million in royalties from streaming platforms. The scheme diverted money from real artists and rights holders. Smith agreed to forfeit the $8,091,843.64 and faces up to five years in prison at sentencing in July 2026.

2 source articles · read the reporting →

DFFH breaches privacy by using ChatGPT in child protection report

A child protection worker at the Department of Families, Fairness and Housing (DFFH) used ChatGPT to draft a Protection Application Report for the Children’s Court, entering sensitive personal information about a child. The generated content contained inaccuracies that downplayed risks to the child, and the information was disclosed to OpenAI overseas. An investigation by the Office of the Victorian Information Commissioner found DFFH failed to ensure accuracy and protect personal information, contravening IPPs 3.1 and 4.1. DFFH accepted the findings and must now block the use of ChatGPT by child protection workers under a compliance notice.

Company involved
Department of Families, Fairness and Housing
AI system involved
ChatGPT

9 source articles · read the reporting →

WF-QMVDDA26 Jan 2017

Mother of robodebt suicide victim tells inquiry of government stonewalling

Jennifer Miller, whose son Rhys Cauzzo took his own life in 2017 while facing Centrelink debts of about $17,000, told the robodebt royal commission that the government stonewalled her for years. The commission heard that Cauzzo's debt was unlawfully calculated using income averaging and that no vulnerability indicator was on his file despite his mental health conditions. Miller said she felt vindicated by the commission's findings, while the former human services minister Alan Tudge had claimed the department acted appropriately. The robodebt scheme, which ran from 2015 to 2019, ended in a $1.8bn settlement after a class action.

Company involved
Department of Human Services (Services Australia)
AI system involved
Robodebt

10 source articles · read the reporting →

WF-YO5LY31 Jan 2022

CNAF algorithm flags single mother Juliette for welfare fraud investigation

In 2022, Juliette, a single mother on welfare in France, was flagged by CNAF's secretive fraud detection algorithm. A fraud investigator later determined she owed thousands of euros, which were deducted from her monthly payments. The algorithm, which scores half of France's population, is accused of discriminating against vulnerable people by using factors like single parenthood and low income.

Company involved
CNAF

10 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 →

WF-GNY7M91 May 2015

Poland's Ministry of Labor profiles unemployed with discriminatory algorithm

In May 2015, Poland's Ministry of Labor and Social Policy introduced an algorithmic system to profile unemployed people into three categories based on their readiness to work, location, and disabilities. The system is accused of being discriminatory and lacking transparency, as it uses default criteria that may lead to social exclusion. A report by the Panoptykon Foundation in October 2015 highlighted these issues and recommended reforms, including granting the right to appeal.

Company involved
Ministry of Labor and Social Policy

10 source articles · read the reporting →

WF-3WZ49Y1 Jul 2025

Commonwealth Bank worker made redundant after unknowingly training AI chatbot to replace her

Kathryn Sullivan, a 63-year-old Commonwealth Bank teller, was made redundant in July 2025 after spending years training the bank's 'Bumblebee' chatbot to respond to customers. She was unaware that she was helping the AI replace her own role. Sullivan confronted CEO Matt Comyn at the bank's AGM in Brisbane, where chairman Paul O'Malley acknowledged the bank had made a mistake. The Finance Sector Union had brought a case before the Fair Work Commission, resulting in some jobs being offered back, but not all.

Company involved
Commonwealth Bank
AI system involved
Bumblebee

4 source articles · read the reporting →

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