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 “Tennessee Eligibility Determination System (TEDS)” · matched on meaning · public reporting

Tennessee woman sues Fargo, detective over wrongful arrest tied to facial recognition error - WDAM-TV

The facial recognition system incorrectly identified the woman as a suspect, leading to her arrest.

Company involved
Fargo Police Department

1 source article · read the reporting →

East Tennessee woman seeks $10M after spending nearly 6 months in jail over AI facial-recognition error - WKRN News 2

The system identified her as a suspect, leading to her arrest and nearly six months in jail.

1 source article · read the reporting →

WF-T97F8D11 Jul 2025

East TN woman mistakenly jailed for months after A.I. flagged her as bank fraud suspect, lawsuit says - WVLT

The facial recognition system misidentified Angela Lipps as a North Dakota bank fraud suspect, leading to her arrest and nearly six months in jail.

Company involved
City of Fargo

1 source article · read the reporting →

New York teacher challenges state evaluation system over flawed rating

Sheri Lederman, a 4th-grade teacher in the Great Neck district, filed a lawsuit against the New York state education department after being rated 'ineffective' on the portion of her evaluation tied to students' test performance, a year after receiving a 'highly effective' score. The lawsuit alleges that the teacher-evaluation system is statistically flawed and lacks a proper appeals process. The education department declined to comment on the litigation.

Company involved
New York state education department

10 source articles · read the reporting →

Tenn. Grandma Spent Months in Jail After False AI Flag in Alleged Crime 1,200 Miles Away. Now She’s Suing -…

Tenn. Grandma Spent Months in Jail After False AI Flag in Alleged Crime 1,200 Miles Away. Now She’s Suing People.com

1 source article · read the reporting →

Tennessee man gets 30 years for trading AI-generated child abuse images with Canadian man - WZTV

AI generated child sexual abuse images using children's faces, affecting the depicted children and contributing to child exploitation.

1 source article · read the reporting →

WF-ATS7E1Russian

South Africa's Supreme Court of Appeal Considers Sassa Algorithm Case

Верховный апелляционный суд ЮАР рассмотрел дело об алгоритмах Sassa - UA.NEWS

The Supreme Court of Appeal heard an appeal on 25 August about Sassa's digital application system for the SRD grant. The system only accepts online applications and uses automated bank account checks that may deny grants to people whose accounts receive deposits that are not regular income. The Global Center on AI Governance submitted that automated decisions must uphold constitutional rights and be fair, non-discriminatory, and suited to South Africa's informal economy.

Company involved
South African Social Security Agency (Sassa)
AI system involved
Sassa digital application system

1 source article · read the reporting →

WF-855ZWA1 Oct 2013

Michigan's MiDAS system falsely accused 34,000 of unemployment fraud

Michigan's Unemployment Insurance Agency (UIA) deployed the Michigan Integrated Data Automated System (MiDAS) to automate fraud detection. The system algorithmically adjudicated over 40,000 fraud cases between October 2013 and September 2015, with 85 percent of those resulting in incorrect fraud determinations. The false accusations led to severe financial penalties, ruined credit, and homelessness for many victims. A class-action lawsuit was filed, and while the state has apologised and returned fines, it has fought against compensation claims, though legislators have promised to seek at least $30 million for those affected.

Company involved
Michigan Unemployment Insurance Agency
AI system involved
Michigan Integrated Data Automated System (MiDAS)

10 source articles · read the reporting →

WF-NWU83B1 Jun 2014

Home Office ruined thousands of lives over flawed ETS cheating evidence

A BBC investigation reveals the UK Home Office deported over 2,500 people and forced 7,200 more to leave based on flawed cheating allegations from ETS's Toeic English test. Despite knowing of serious concerns about ETS's conduct and data reliability, the Home Office continued enforcement. Many innocent people faced years of hardship, with some later proving their innocence through test recordings.

Company involved
Home Office
AI system involved
Toeic

1 source article · read the reporting →

WF-G6ZG2V1 Jan 2017

Trelleborg municipality's welfare robot leaks personal data of hundreds

Trelleborg municipality in Sweden introduced a fully automated system named Ernst to handle welfare applications. An analysis of the system's source code, obtained via a freedom of information request, revealed that the names and social security numbers of approximately 250 people were included in the code since its introduction, making them visible to anyone who filed a request. The municipality is investigating the leak, which is also the subject of a complaint to the Swedish Parliamentary Ombudsman.

Company involved
Trelleborg municipality
AI system involved
Ernst

10 source articles · read the reporting →

WF-HGNEQK15 Sep 2017

TSA body scanners trigger invasive searches of transgender travellers

Transgender and gender nonconforming travellers in the US allege that Transportation Security Administration full-body scanners, which require officers to select a binary gender, routinely flag their bodies as anomalies, leading to humiliating and invasive pat-downs. Travellers including Olivia, Terra Fox and Allister McGuire describe being pressured to expose their genitals or strip in private rooms after alarms, with one woman saying she was forced to show her penis to female officers who then cleared her. The TSA says it is committed to treating all travellers equally and has introduced new transgender awareness training, but internal complaint data shows a disproportionate number of civil rights complaints relate to screening of transgender people. ProPublica’s review of 174 traveller accounts found that most did not file a formal complaint, often from fear of outing themselves or not knowing how.

Company involved
Transportation Security Administration
AI system involved
Full-body scanner

1 source article · 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-HT4UHG1 Jan 2011

Houston teachers sue over secret EVAAS evaluation algorithm

Houston Independent School District used the SAS Institute's EVAAS system, a proprietary algorithm, to evaluate teacher performance based on student test scores. The Houston Federation of Teachers and several teachers sued in 2014, alleging the system violated their Fourteenth Amendment procedural due process rights because the algorithm is a trade secret and teachers cannot verify the accuracy of their scores. A federal magistrate judge refused to dismiss the procedural due process claims in May 2017, ruling that teachers must have an opportunity to test the accuracy of the scores that could cost them their jobs.

Company involved
Houston Independent School District
AI system involved
Educational Value-Added Assessment System (EVAAS)

1 source article · read the reporting →

WF-2YSA0H1 Apr 2020

Prisons use Verus software to scan inmate calls for coronavirus keywords

Jail and prison officials in at least three states deployed Verus, a software by LEO Technologies, to scan inmate phone calls for keywords related to COVID-19. The system transcribes and analyzes calls, flagging mentions of symptoms or the virus. Advocacy groups argue the surveillance is an abuse of privacy and could lead to retaliation against inmates raising concerns about conditions. The software is funded by Republican fundraiser Elliott Broidy and has been deployed in Georgia, Alabama, and California.

Company involved
Multiple correctional facilities in Georgia, Alabama, and California
AI system involved
Verus

10 source articles · read the reporting →

WF-L5NTEZ27 Oct 2014

Teachers find no value in SAS EVAAS system in Southwest School District

A study examined the SAS Education Value-Added Assessment System (EVAAS®) used by the Southwest School District (SSD) to evaluate teacher effectiveness for high-stakes consequences. Teachers reported that the system produced inconsistent results, was biased by student factors, and reduced morale and collaboration. The study found that teachers did not use the data formatively as intended, and unintended consequences included heightened pressure and teaching to the test.

Company involved
Southwest School District (SSD)
AI system involved
SAS Education Value-Added Assessment System (EVAAS®)

10 source articles · read the reporting →

WF-RMG9SS1 Jan 2022

Jordan's National Aid Fund Algorithm Denies Cash Assistance to Vulnerable Households

Human Rights Watch reported that Jordan’s Takaful cash transfer programme, run by the National Aid Fund and financed by the World Bank, uses an algorithm to rank households by estimated economic vulnerability and select recipients. The report found that the algorithm relies on inaccurate self-reported income and questionable indicators such as car ownership and utility use, causing eligible poor families to be denied benefits or receive reduced payments. The World Bank and NAF defended the programme and its targeting approach.

Company involved
National Aid Fund (NAF)
AI system involved
Takaful (Unified Cash Transfer Program)

3 source articles · read the reporting →

Idaho Medicaid used secret formula to cut assistance for disabled adults

The Idaho Department of Health and Welfare used a secret formula to drastically cut Medicaid assistance for adults with developmental disabilities, claiming the formula was a trade secret. The ACLU of Idaho filed a class action lawsuit, K.W. v. Armstrong, in 2012, alleging the cuts violated due process. A federal court struck down the formula in 2016 and ordered a new system, but as of 2024, a fair system has not yet been implemented.

Company involved
Idaho Department of Health and Welfare

10 source articles · read the reporting →

WF-PZC5LA1 Jan 2020

EEOC sues iTutorGroup for automated rejection of older tutor applicants

The US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) alleges that tutoring provider iTutorGroup programmed its recruitment software automatically to reject female applicants aged 55 or older and male applicants aged 60 or older. More than 200 qualified US-based applicants were denied work in 2020. The EEOC has filed a lawsuit in the Eastern District of New York seeking back pay and damages.

Company involved
iTutorGroup

10 source articles · read the reporting →

WF-89GNUB1 Oct 2018

AMS algorithm lacks transparency and may discriminate against job seekers

The Austrian Public Employment Service (AMS) uses an algorithm to classify job seekers into categories A, B, and C, determining their access to benefits and training. Scientists from TU Wien, WU Wien, and University of Vienna have criticised the algorithm for lacking transparency, as only two of 96 model variants have been published. They allege that the system may discriminate against women and people with migration background, and that job seekers are not informed about how the algorithm works or given a chance to appeal.

Company involved
AMS (Arbeitsmarktservice Österreich)
AI system involved
AMS-Algorithmus

10 source articles · read the reporting →

Titus Henderson files civil rights lawsuit against COMPAS

Titus Henderson, a prisoner, filed a civil rights lawsuit against COMPAS and other defendants in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Wisconsin on July 16, 2018. The lawsuit alleges discrimination related to the use of the COMPAS risk assessment tool. The case is ongoing.

AI system involved
COMPAS

6 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-E7VSR21 Jan 2021

LA's VI-SPDAT housing scoring system gives lower priority to Black and Latino people

The Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority uses the VI-SPDAT scoring system to prioritise unhoused people for subsidised permanent housing. An investigation by The Markup found that Black and Latino people consistently receive lower vulnerability scores than White people, leading to lower priority for housing. The agency has acknowledged the racial disparities and is working on a new tool, but continues to use the current system.

Company involved
Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority
AI system involved
VI-SPDAT

10 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-BX55BU1 Mar 2022

Serbia's Social Card law could harm marginalized groups

Serbia's Social Card law, which entered into force on 1 March 2022, establishes a centralized government database to assess eligibility for social security support. Amnesty International and seven other rights organizations submitted a legal opinion to the Constitutional Court, alleging that the automated system is an intrusive surveillance system that could discriminate against Roma communities and people with disabilities. The system processes 130 categories of personal data and lacks transparency, potentially leading to errors and denial of benefits.

Company involved
Serbian government
AI system involved
Social Card system

10 source articles · read the reporting →

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