Uber Pays Settlement to Courier After Facial Recognition Error Locks Him Out of App
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Uber Eats courier Pa Edrissa Manjang received a payout from Uber after its facial recognition system wrongly prevented him from accessing the app due to apparent racial bias.
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Manjang filed a legal claim against Uber in 2021 with support from unions and regulators. After years of litigation Uber settled, but did not accept fault in its systems or processes.
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The case highlights deficiencies in UK law when dealing with harms from rushed AI systems, including around transparency and accountability. It also shows gaps in enforcement by regulators like the ICO.
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Manjang was only able to get remedy via making a discrimination claim under equality law, not data protection law, despite relevant provisions in the UK GDPR.
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The UK government recently declined to introduce dedicated AI safety laws, instead asking regulators to extend oversight using existing patchwork of laws and very limited extra funding.