Uber Eats Sued Over Alleged Racial Bias in Facial Recognition AI

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Pa Edrissa Manjang, a Black Uber Eats courier in London, is suing the company after being dismissed due to repeated failures of its facial recognition AI, which he claims is racially biased. The AI system's alleged inability to accurately verify his identity led to his suspension, raising concerns of discrimination and labor rights violations.[AI generated]

Why's our monitor labelling this an incident or hazard?

The facial recognition software is an AI system used to verify driver identity. The driver's repeated false negatives and account suspension indicate a malfunction or bias in the AI system's operation. This has caused harm in the form of racial discrimination and labor rights violations, as the driver was unfairly suspended and subjected to repeated verification attempts. The legal case and tribunal proceedings confirm that harm has occurred and is being contested. Therefore, this qualifies as an AI Incident due to realized harm linked directly to the AI system's use and its discriminatory impact.[AI generated]
AI principles
AccountabilityFairnessRespect of human rightsRobustness & digital securityTransparency & explainabilityHuman wellbeingDemocracy & human autonomy
Industries
Food and beveragesLogistics, wholesale, and retailConsumer servicesDigital security
Affected stakeholders
Workers
Harm types
Human or fundamental rightsEconomic/PropertyPsychological
Business function:
Human resource managementMonitoring and quality control
AI system task:
Recognition/object detection
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