Real-world cases where organisations were challenged to explain consequential decisions.
Each case highlights a question Irish boards should be asking: Could we explain this if it happened here?
In Mobley v. Workday, Inc. (N.D. Cal.), a job applicant alleged that Workday's AI-powered screening tools contributed to discriminatory hiring outcomes. The case was allowed to proceed, with the court considering whether Workday could bear responsibility as an agent acting on behalf of employers. Subsequent developments included collective-action certification around age-discrimination claims. The case remains ongoing.
DIGITALomnibus LENS: This is the Decision Visibility Gap — the difference between understanding individual systems and being able to explain the decisions that emerge between them. "One Decision. Multiple Systems."
In Moffatt v. Air Canada (2024 BCCRT 149), a customer asked the airline's AI chatbot about bereavement fares. The chatbot provided incorrect information about the refund policy. When the customer sought to rely on that information, Air Canada argued the chatbot was a separate entity responsible for its own statements.
DIGITALomnibus LENS: The issue was not the chatbot itself, but the lack of clear Decision Visibility across the systems and processes that generated the final response.
The Dutch government deployed an automated risk assessment system to detect benefit fraud. The system incorrectly flagged thousands of families, disproportionately affecting minority groups, leading to devastating financial consequences.
DIGITALomnibus LENS: At its core, this was a failure of Decision Visibility across interconnected systems.
Amazon developed an AI-powered recruiting tool intended to streamline hiring by reviewing resumes and scoring candidates. The system was trained on historical data from the company's previous hiring patterns.
DIGITALomnibus LENS: The core issue was not malice, but a complete lack of Decision Visibility. The system operated as a black box with no clear way to reconstruct or explain individual outcomes.
Chaac Pizza Northeast, a major Pizza Hut franchisee operating over 110 locations, alleges that it was required to adopt Dragontail (now Yum! Connect), an AI-powered delivery management system designed to optimise order dispatch and timing. According to reporting by Business Insider, the franchisee claims the system caused significant operational disruption.
DIGITALomnibus LENS: The alleged failure stemmed from insufficient Decision Visibility across the interconnected systems of kitchen operations, AI dispatch logic, and third-party delivery partners.
The Australian Government introduced an automated debt recovery system (dubbed Robodebt) that used data matching between Centrelink and the Australian Taxation Office to identify and pursue alleged overpayments.
DIGITALomnibus LENS: The failure was not in a single system, but in the inability to explain and justify the decisions that emerged across interconnected government databases.
UnitedHealth Group, one of the largest health insurers in the United States, reportedly deployed an AI system to review and deny medical claims.
DIGITALomnibus LENS: This case exemplifies the dangers of insufficient Decision Visibility when AI systems influence consequential outcomes across complex data ecosystems.
Zillow launched an iBuying programme using sophisticated algorithms to predict home values, purchase properties, and resell them for profit.
DIGITALomnibus LENS: This was a failure of Decision Visibility at scale — the inability to fully understand and explain the logic behind thousands of automated purchasing decisions.
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