Where automated decisions went wrong

Joppa residents raise concerns after data center built near homes without community notice - WFAA

A data center was built near homes in Joppa without community notice.

1 source article · read the reporting →

Noise lawsuit is latest in legal wave hitting data center operations - Facilities Dive

The data center emitted a low-frequency hum that reduced quality of life and property values for nearby residents.

Company involved

Microsoft

AI system involved

Fairwater data center

1 source article · read the reporting →

DataOne asks court to toss noise lawsuit over Vineland data center - Courier-Post

The data center generated excessive and intrusive noise affecting neighbors in East Vineland.

Company involved

DataOne USA LLC

1 source article · read the reporting →

Residents suing Hyperscale data center in Dowagiac over 'unreasonable, excessive noise'

Residents of Dowagiac, Michigan, filed a class-action lawsuit against Alliance Cloud Services, a subsidiary of Hyperscale Data, over constant noise from the cooling fans of its data centre, which opened in 2022 as a digital-asset mining site and is being expanded for AI computing. Neighbours describe a vacuum-cleaner-like hum day and night that keeps them indoors and disrupts sleep. The city adopted an industrial noise limit and fined the operator, which disputes the measurements.

Company involved

Hyperscale Data (Alliance Cloud Services)

AI system involved

Dowagiac data centre

2 source articles · read the reporting →

DataOne Data Center in Vineland Sparks Protests, Microsoft Under Scrutiny

DataOne Data Center di Vineland Tuai Protes Warga, Microsoft Disorot - Telset.id

The DataOne data center in Vineland, New Jersey, is operating without permits, using gas turbines that cause air and noise pollution. It was built to supply computing power to Microsoft through a deal with Nebius, but residents were not informed until after construction began. Microsoft is facing criticism for its role in the project.

Company involved

DataOne

AI system involved

DataOne data center

1 source article · read the reporting →

Denver data center generators draw noise complaints in Elyria-Swansea

Residents of Denver's Elyria-Swansea neighbourhood complained about noise from generators at a CoreSite data centre, according to Denverite.

Company involved

CoreSite

AI system involved

Denver data centre generators

1 source article · read the reporting →

SpaceXAI offering to buy homes affected by noise in Southaven - DeSoto Times-Tribune

The power plant's operation generated constant noise that affected nearby residents' quality of life, health, and property values.

Company involved

SpaceXAI

1 source article · read the reporting →

Who's Suing the Georgia Meta Platforms Data Center? - Law.com

A Meta Platforms data center in Georgia allegedly ran afoul of local nuisance and trespassing laws, affecting local residents.

Company involved

Meta Platforms

1 source article · read the reporting →

Why neighbors are losing sleep as a data center rises in Ahwatukee - azcentral.com and The Arizona Republic

The data center's early morning construction caused noise that disrupted sleep for Ahwatukee residents.

1 source article · read the reporting →

AI Hiring Platform Faces FCRA Class Action Over Data Use | Kistler et al. v. Eightfold AI Inc.

The AI platform screened job applicants, affecting their hiring prospects.

Company involved

Eightfold AI

AI system involved

Eightfold AI

1 source article · read the reporting →

Class action claims Checkr misreported criminal records in background checks

Checkr's system misreported criminal records belonging to someone else on Natasha Davis's consumer report, impeding her ability to gain employment.

Company involved

Checkr Inc.

1 source article · read the reporting →

SafeRent Settles Class Action Over Tenant Screening for Voucher Holders

Mary Louis and Monica Douglas filed a class action lawsuit in 2022 alleging that SafeRent Solutions' SafeRent Score product discriminated against rental applicants in Massachusetts who held public housing vouchers, violating fair housing and consumer protection laws. SafeRent denied wrongdoing. The court approved a settlement in November 2024, and payments were distributed to eligible class members in 2025 and 2026.

Company involved

SafeRent Solutions, LLC

AI system involved

SafeRent Score

5 source articles · read the reporting →

Memphians sue SpaceXAI, subsidiary over noise tied to Southaven data center - localmemphis.com

The data center's operations produced noise that disturbed nearby residents

Company involved

SpaceXAI

1 source article · read the reporting →

Microsoft exec called AI scraping ‘the largest theft of labor in human history,’ new unredacted filings reveal

Microsoft and OpenAI scraped and trained on paywalled content, bypassing paywalls and affecting publishers like The New York Times

Company involved

Microsoft

AI system involved

Copilot

1 source article · read the reporting →

xAI Data Center Noise Controversy, Explained - basenor.com

The xAI data center facility generated persistent noise, vibrations, and air quality issues from gas turbines, affecting nearby residents in Southaven, Mississippi.

Company involved

xAI

1 source article · read the reporting →

Bought apartment with data center in the backyard: 'Unlivable'

Kjøpte leilighet med datasenter i bakgården: –⁠ Ulevelig - E24

A couple bought a new apartment in Oslo and discovered a constant humming noise from a nearby data center after moving in. The developer Obos did not inform them about the noise, even though the data center had warned about it and neighbors had complained. The couple has hired a lawyer and wants to cancel the purchase or swap to another apartment.

Company involved

Vaultica

1 source article · read the reporting →

Data Center Noise Still Shakes Homes in Great Oak, County Slow to Act

Residents of the Great Oak subdivision in Prince William County, Virginia, told the Board of County Supervisors on 10 June 2025 that the low-frequency hum from cooling systems at nearby data centres, including Amazon Web Services sites, is still shaking their homes, while a draft county noise ordinance remained long delayed.

Company involved

Amazon Web Services

AI system involved

Great Oak data centre

1 source article · read the reporting →

Lieff Cabraser and Greer Injury Lawyers Announce Federal Class Action Lawsuit Against X.AI Corp and MZX Tech LLC for Nuisance,…

The data centers and gas turbines emitted constant noise, vibrations, and particulate matter, affecting residents' ability to use and enjoy their properties.

Company involved

X.AI Corp and MZX Tech LLC

AI system involved

Colossus I, Colossus II, MACROHARDRR, Minihard data centers and gas turbines

1 source article · read the reporting →

Meta Scraped User Photos for Secret Smart-Glasses Tech, Class Action Claims - The SOFX Report

Meta harvested user photographs and created biometric faceprints to enable a smart-glasses system that could identify strangers in public without consent.

Company involved

Meta Platforms, Inc.

AI system involved

NameTag

1 source article · read the reporting →

Cherokee County deputies fired for misusing Flock licence plate database

Three deputies from the Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office in Georgia were fired and arrested for allegedly accessing the department’s automated licence plate reader database without a lawful purpose. The misuse was uncovered following a self-initiated audit of the Flock Safety system. All three individuals face charges of violation of oath of office.

Company involved

Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office

AI system involved

Flock Safety

3 source articles · read the reporting →

McKinsey's Lilli AI Platform Hacked, Exposing 46 Million Chat Messages

Security researchers at CodeWall used an autonomous offensive agent to discover a SQL injection vulnerability in McKinsey's internal AI platform, Lilli. The vulnerability allowed unauthenticated access to the production database, exposing 46.5 million chat messages, 728,000 files, and 57,000 user accounts. The researchers responsibly disclosed the issue to McKinsey, who patched the endpoints within days. No data was exfiltrated or misused, and no disruption occurred.

Company involved

McKinsey & Company

AI system involved

Lilli

1 source article · read the reporting →

Canada Investigates Landlords' Use of AI Rent-Setting Software YieldStar

The Competition Bureau of Canada is investigating allegations that major corporate landlords, including Dream Unlimited, used AI-powered software YieldStar to coordinate rent increases. Tenant advocacy groups filed over 100 complaints, claiming the software recommended above-market rents, exacerbating housing affordability. Some landlords have since halted use of YieldStar amid public backlash, while the investigation continues.

Company involved

Dream Unlimited

AI system involved

YieldStar

7 source articles · read the reporting →

DC attorney general sues 14 landlords over RealPage rent collusion

The Attorney General of Washington DC filed a lawsuit against 14 large landlords, alleging they used RealPage's YieldStar software to form “a District-wide housing cartel” that artificially inflated rents. The complaint claims RealPage's pricing algorithm used data supplied by the landlords and pressurised them to follow its rate recommendations, with one firm's internal presentation stating at least 95% compliance was expected. This alleged scheme caused residents to pay millions of dollars above fair market prices during a housing affordability crisis.

Company involved

Greystar Management Services

AI system involved

YieldStar

10 source articles · read the reporting →

Claude Code deletes developer's production database and snapshots

Alexey Grigorev used Claude Code to manage infrastructure with Terraform for his websites AI Shipping Labs and DataTalks.Club. Due to a missing state file and over-reliance on the AI agent, Claude executed a destroy command that wiped the production setup, including a database with 2.5 years of records and snapshots. Amazon Business support helped restore the data within a day. Grigorev is now implementing safeguards to prevent recurrence.

Company involved

AI Shipping Labs

AI system involved

Claude Code

2 source articles · read the reporting →