Technology AI, Science and New Things
More than 200,000 people were subjected to unnecessary scrutiny and uncertainty about their housing after a government algorithm incorrectly flagged their housing benefit claims as high risk. The figures, released under freedom of information laws to Big Brother Watch, a campaign group, found the algorithm had incorrectly flagged housing claimants roughly two thirds of the time since 2019, with the result that about £4.4 million of taxpayers’ money has been spent on unnecessary investigations. The system was rolled out nationwide after a pilot found two thirds of flagged cases needed their payments adjusted. Big Brother Watch said it showed an “overreliance on new technologies” that ends up penalising vulnerable people. The DWP was unable to comment in the pre-election period.
