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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44 incidents closest to “Duolingo for Schools” · matched on meaning · public reporting

WF-YP3NW31 Oct 2025

Korean universities introduce anti-cheating measures after AI misconduct

Students at Korea University, Yonsei University, and Seoul National University allegedly used generative AI tools like ChatGPT to cheat on online exams and quizzes. Korea University voided a midterm exam and plans to implement randomized questions and monitoring software for the affected course. Yonsei University has AI use guidelines but acknowledges they are not enforceable, while Seoul National University held a retest for one class. Investigations are ongoing, and it remains unclear whether students will face disciplinary action.

Company involved
Korea University, Yonsei University, Seoul National University
AI system involved
ChatGPT

3 source articles · read the reporting →

WF-2E398O21 Aug 2024

Udemy automatically opts instructors into AI training with limited opt-out window

Udemy automatically opted instructors into having their classes used to train its generative AI program. Instructors were given a three-week window to opt out, which has now passed, leaving some unable to remove their content. Katie Stegs, an instructor, said she only found out via an email welcoming her to the program and found the opt-out option greyed out. Udemy defended the policy, citing the technical difficulty of removing data from AI models, while some instructors have left the platform in protest.

Company involved
Udemy
AI system involved
Generative AI Program (GenAI Program)

6 source articles · read the reporting →

Arizona family sues school district after AI flags unsent joke as threat, leading to 45-day suspension

A student at Marana High School in Arizona typed a joke threat in an unsent email draft on a school-issued laptop while at home with his mother. AI monitoring software flagged the message, and the Marana Unified School District suspended him for 45 days under its zero-tolerance policy. The family is now suing, alleging the punishment violated the student's rights, as the message was never sent and posed no actual threat. The case raises questions about AI surveillance in schools and the criminalization of careless speech.

Company involved
Marana Unified School District

1 source article · read the reporting →

WF-Y5CA8L1 Dec 2022

Furman University student caught using ChatGPT to write essay

A student at Furman University allegedly used OpenAI's ChatGPT to generate an essay for an upper-level philosophy class. Professor Darren Hick detected the AI-generated text using the GPTZero detection tool. The incident highlights growing concerns about AI-assisted cheating in schools, with some districts like Los Angeles Unified blocking the chatbot.

Company involved
Furman University
AI system involved
ChatGPT

10 source articles · read the reporting →

Fired Teacher Says AI Tainted Review And Arbitration - law360.com

The AI-generated performance evaluation contributed to the teacher's termination.

Company involved
Concord Public Schools

1 source article · read the reporting →

WF-JODIE925 Aug 2026ZH-TW

15-Year-Old Test Exposes Flaw: ChatGPT for Teens Fails to Block Homework Cheating, Repeated Requests Bypass Restrictions

15歲使用者實測揭漏洞:青少年版ChatGPT難擋宿題代寫,反覆要求即破解 - BigGo 財經

A 15-year-old tester found that OpenAI's ChatGPT for Teens, launched in August, initially refused to write essays but generated full examples after repeated requests. It also immediately solved SAT-level math problems. Parental controls require account linking and are off by default, while experts warn the memory feature could lead to emotional attachment.

Company involved
OpenAI
AI system involved
ChatGPT for Teens

1 source article · read the reporting →

WF-YUL9LB1 Jan 2023

AI chatbots used to steal US college financial aid

Crime rings are deploying AI chatbots as 'ghost students' to enrol in online college courses and fraudulently collect US federal financial aid. Victims of identity theft, such as Heather Brady and Brittnee Nelson, discovered loans of over $9,000 and $5,000 respectively taken out in their names for colleges they never attended. The US Education Department introduced a temporary rule requiring government-issued ID for first-time aid applicants, while California community colleges reported losing at least $11.1 million to such scams.

Company involved
Delgado Community College

4 source articles · read the reporting →

WF-3XRMGG1 Mar 2025

Sydney students resit NAPLAN after predictive text glitch

Year 5 students at Waverley College and Kambala in Sydney were required to resit their NAPLAN writing exams after a technical glitch enabled Apple's predictive text and spellcheck features during the test. The issue was discovered by a teacher and students, and the schools reported it to NESA and ACARA. The students were given a new prompt and completed the test the following Monday. An ACARA spokesman stated the problem was not widespread, with over 880,000 tests submitted successfully.

Company involved
ACARA
AI system involved
NAPLAN

2 source articles · read the reporting →

WF-EK8S5M1 Oct 2023

Student at University of South-Eastern Norway used deepfake video to cheat on Spanish exam

A student at the University of South-Eastern Norway submitted AI-generated deepfake videos for Spanish language assessments in autumn 2023. The videos featured a synthetic voice and manipulated face, with perfect pronunciation but elementary errors. The university's appeals committee found her guilty of cheating, annulled her exams, and excluded her for two semesters. The student admitted using AI and withdrew from the programme.

Company involved
Universitetet i Sørøst-Norge

1 source article · read the reporting →

WF-MZ24NZ1 Sep 2020

Universities' use of race in student risk algorithms harms Black and Latinx students

The Markup found that several universities, including UMass Amherst, UW–Milwaukee, and Texas A&M, use EAB's Navigate software which incorporates race as a predictor of student dropout risk. The algorithms label Black and Latinx students as high risk at disproportionately high rates compared to White students. Students, professors, and experts worry this is pushing minority students out of math and science majors through biased advising.

Company involved
University of Massachusetts Amherst,University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee,Texas A&M University,Texas Tech University,South Dakota State University
AI system involved
Navigate

1 source article · read the reporting →

WF-GWKZP614 Jun 2024

LAUSD shelves AI chatbot after vendor AllHere collapses

Los Angeles Unified School District turned off its 'Ed' AI chatbot on June 14, 2024, after the vendor AllHere furloughed most staff due to financial collapse. The chatbot, which cost $3 million, was designed to provide students and parents with academic guidance and school information. A former AllHere employee alleged that student data was improperly shared with third parties and processed overseas, raising privacy concerns. The district stated it will ensure privacy protections and plans to eventually restore the chatbot.

Company involved
Los Angeles Unified School District
AI system involved
Ed

5 source articles · read the reporting →

Parents sue Hingham Public Schools over AI project D grade

The parents of a Hingham High School senior allege the school unfairly punished him for using AI on a social studies project, giving him a D and Saturday detention despite no handbook rule against AI. They say the grade kept him out of the National Honor Society and threatens his applications to top-tier colleges. The family sued Hingham High School administration and the school district in Plymouth County District Court, seeking a grade change and NHS admission. Hingham Public Schools has declined to comment, citing ongoing litigation.

Company involved
Hingham Public Schools

2 source articles · read the reporting →

WF-HM55RC24 Feb 2012

New York City Department of Education Releases Flawed Teacher Ratings Publicly

In February 2012, the New York City Department of Education publicly released individual Teacher Data Reports rating over 12,000 teachers based on value-added analysis of student test scores. The ratings, originally intended for internal use, were disclosed after a court ruled in favor of media organizations under the Freedom of Information Act. The teachers' union and education experts criticised the data as unreliable due to large margins of error and failure to account for demographic factors, warning that the release would unfairly shame or praise educators. The Department defended the ratings as a useful perspective on teacher effectiveness.

Company involved
New York City Department of Education
AI system involved
Teacher Data Reports

6 source articles · read the reporting →

WF-QY8DEQ26 Jun 2025

Hanoi students caught using AI to cheat in graduation exam

Two students in Hanoi used mobile phones to photograph questions from the national high school graduation exam and submitted them to AI apps like StudyX, Gemini, and ChatGPT for answers. Proctors detected the cheating, and the students were suspended. Hanoi police are investigating the incident, which has raised concerns about exam security and integrity. The students face disqualification and possible administrative or criminal penalties.

AI system involved
StudyX, Gemini, ChatGPT

2 source articles · read the reporting →

Hangzhou No. 11 Middle School installs facial recognition system to monitor students

Hangzhou No. 11 Middle School has deployed a smart classroom behaviour management system, developed with Hikvision, that uses facial recognition to take attendance and analyse students' expressions and behaviour. The system alerts teachers when students appear inattentive. The school says it records only behavioural state information, not video, and that it will be installed in all classes. Some people have raised privacy concerns.

Company involved
杭州第十一中学
AI system involved
智慧课堂行为管理系统

10 source articles · read the reporting →

WF-SASGFE1 Sep 2018

Anderstorp gymnasium trials facial recognition to register student attendance

Anderstorp gymnasium in Skellefteå, Sweden, used a facial recognition system for a few weeks in autumn 2018 to automatically register students' attendance when they entered a classroom. The system, made by an unnamed manufacturer, replaced teachers' manual attendance records for one class. Pupils were mostly satisfied, and the school's principal described the technology as safe. Skellefteå municipality and the manufacturer are discussing a possible continuation, with the manufacturer recommending consultation with Datainspektionen before scaling up.

Company involved
Skellefteå kommun

10 source articles · read the reporting →

WF-EF57BQ1 Jan 2019

Beijing school uses Hanwang emotion recognition system to monitor student behaviour

Niulanshan First Secondary School in Beijing has installed Hanwang Technology's Classroom Care System, which photographs students every second and analyses their facial expressions and behaviour. The system sends weekly reports to teachers and parents, and one student was described as low participation in English class despite being recorded as focused 94% of the time. The school has been highlighted in a report by Article 19, which says such emotion recognition tools rely on junk science and risk eroding privacy and human rights.

Company involved
Niulanshan First Secondary School
AI system involved
Classroom Care System

10 source articles · read the reporting →

WF-XQL7UV26 Feb 2026

Lake Zurich High School students used AI to generate explicit images of female classmates

In February 2026, students at Lake Zurich High School used artificial intelligence to generate sexually explicit images of female classmates without their consent. The school district acknowledged the incident and notified police, who are investigating. More than 40 girls from fifth grade to high school were reportedly affected. The school provided support and issued disciplinary consequences, while the police investigation continues.

Company involved
Lake Zurich Community Unit School District 95

1 source article · read the reporting →

WF-L1LKDO1 Mar 2021

China's vocational school students exploited as data annotators for AI

Vocational schools in China force students to work as data annotators for AI companies, paying subminimum wages and taking commissions. Students like Lucy in Shandong spent months labeling data for autonomous driving and content moderation systems, with little learning or career advancement. The practice continues despite new regulations.

2 source articles · read the reporting →

WF-W8MY6X1 Sep 2020

Middle schooler beats Edgenuity grading algorithm to get perfect score

A seventh-grade student in the Los Angeles Unified School District received a failing grade on a history assignment graded by Edgenuity's automated scoring algorithm. With help from his mother, a history professor, he reverse-engineered the algorithm by writing a paragraph with relevant keywords and a jumble of words, earning a perfect score. The incident highlights concerns about the accuracy and fairness of automated grading systems in education.

Company involved
Los Angeles Unified School District
AI system involved
Edgenuity

10 source articles · read the reporting →

WF-SD7T9128 Sep 2020

Student flagged by ProctorU for reading aloud during exam

A college student, Dana Jo, was flagged by ProctorU test proctoring software for talking during an exam, which she says was reading a question aloud. Her professor initially gave her a zero and placed an academic infraction on her record, jeopardizing her scholarships. After reviewing a video recording, the professor apologized, reinstated her grade, and removed the infraction. ProctorU's CEO stated that the incident highlights the importance of video recordings for review.

Company involved
University (not named)
AI system involved
ProctorU

5 source articles · read the reporting →

Wisconsin’s dropout prediction algorithm labels students high risk with racial bias

Wisconsin’s Dropout Early Warning System (DEWS) uses machine learning to predict middle school students' likelihood of graduating on time, relying on factors including race and income. The Markup found the algorithm frequently mislabels students, with a higher false alarm rate for Black and Hispanic students. The Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction has not informed schools of the racial disparities and continues to use the system.

Company involved
Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction
AI system involved
Dropout Early Warning System (DEWS)

10 source articles · read the reporting →

WF-53YZFN1 Jul 2023

Nevada's AI grad score model cuts funding for low-income students

Nevada replaced its income-based school funding formula with a machine learning model developed by Infinite Campus that generates a 'grad score' for each student. The model reduced the number of students eligible for supplemental funding from 288,000 to 63,000, disproportionately affecting low-income students. Critics argue the model lacks transparency and de-emphasizes economic status, potentially leaving many high-poverty schools underfunded.

Company involved
Nevada Department of Education
AI system involved
Grad score model

7 source articles · read the reporting →

Facial recognition trialled in Australian schools to mark attendance

Five Australian schools are trialling a facial recognition system from LoopLearn to automate student attendance. The system scans students' faces and sends attendance data to an app. Privacy experts have raised concerns about data security and surveillance. The Victorian government previously tried to stop the trial due to privacy risks.

Company involved
Clarendon College
AI system involved
LoopLearn

10 source articles · read the reporting →

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