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Incident 738: Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) Algorithm Wrongly Flags 200,000 for Housing Benefit Fraud

Description: A Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) algorithm wrongly flagged over 200,000 UK housing benefit claims as high risk, resulting in unnecessary investigations. Two-thirds of these flagged claims were legitimate, causing wasted public funds and stress for claimants. Despite initial success in a pilot, the algorithm's real-world performance fell short. This incident highlights the risks of overreliance on automated systems in welfare administration.

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Alleged: Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) developed and deployed an AI system, which harmed UK general public and UK housing benefit claimants.

Incident Stats

Incident ID
738
Report Count
5
Incident Date
2024-06-23
Editors
Applied Taxonomies
MIT

MIT Taxonomy Classifications

Machine-Classified
Taxonomy Details

Risk Subdomain

A further 23 subdomains create an accessible and understandable classification of hazards and harms associated with AI
 

1.3. Unequal performance across groups

Risk Domain

The Domain Taxonomy of AI Risks classifies risks into seven AI risk domains: (1) Discrimination & toxicity, (2) Privacy & security, (3) Misinformation, (4) Malicious actors & misuse, (5) Human-computer interaction, (6) Socioeconomic & environmental harms, and (7) AI system safety, failures & limitations.
 
  1. Discrimination and Toxicity

Entity

Which, if any, entity is presented as the main cause of the risk
 

AI

Timing

The stage in the AI lifecycle at which the risk is presented as occurring
 

Post-deployment

Intent

Whether the risk is presented as occurring as an expected or unexpected outcome from pursuing a goal
 

Unintentional

Incident Reports

Reports Timeline

+1
DWP algorithm wrongly flags 200,000 people for possible fraud and error
+2
DWP algorithm 'wrongly flags' 200,000 people for fraud
DWP wrongly suspects hundreds of thousands of benefits claimants of fraud
DWP algorithm wrongly flags 200,000 people for possible fraud and error

DWP algorithm wrongly flags 200,000 people for possible fraud and error

theguardian.com

DWP algorithm 'wrongly flags' 200,000 people for fraud

DWP algorithm 'wrongly flags' 200,000 people for fraud

uk.news.yahoo.com

DWP algorithm wrongly forces over 200,000 people through benefit fraud investigations

DWP algorithm wrongly forces over 200,000 people through benefit fraud investigations

thecanary.co

DWP Algorithm Mistakenly Identifies 200,000 Individuals as Potential Fraud Cases

DWP Algorithm Mistakenly Identifies 200,000 Individuals as Potential Fraud Cases

en.econostrum.info

DWP wrongly suspects hundreds of thousands of benefits claimants of fraud

DWP wrongly suspects hundreds of thousands of benefits claimants of fraud

walesonline.co.uk

DWP algorithm wrongly flags 200,000 people for possible fraud and error
theguardian.com · 2024

More than 200,000 people have wrongly faced investigation for housing benefit fraud and error after the performance of a government algorithm fell far short of expectations, the Guardian can reveal.

Two-thirds of claims flagged as potential…

DWP algorithm 'wrongly flags' 200,000 people for fraud
uk.news.yahoo.com · 2024

200,000 Department for Work and Pensions claimants have been warned they have "wrongly" been triggered for "fraud and error". The DWP algorithm has "wrongly flagged" 200,000 people for possible fraud and error, according to the Guardian new…

DWP algorithm wrongly forces over 200,000 people through benefit fraud investigations
thecanary.co · 2024

The Canary has previously reported how the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) reliance on AI and algorithmic technology for benefit fraud detection could put disabled and chronically ill claimants at risk. Now, new data obtained by a ca…

DWP Algorithm Mistakenly Identifies 200,000 Individuals as Potential Fraud Cases
en.econostrum.info · 2024

According to the Guardian, more than 200,000 people have been wrongfully investigated for housing benefit fraud and error after a government algorithm failed to operate as expected.

Two-thirds of claims marked as potentially high risk by a …

DWP wrongly suspects hundreds of thousands of benefits claimants of fraud
walesonline.co.uk · 2024

More than 200,000 people have been wrongly investigated for housing benefit fraud and error. Over the last three years two-thirds of claims flagged as potentially high risk by a Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) automated system were a…

Variants

A "variant" is an incident that shares the same causative factors, produces similar harms, and involves the same intelligent systems as a known AI incident. Rather than index variants as entirely separate incidents, we list variations of incidents under the first similar incident submitted to the database. Unlike other submission types to the incident database, variants are not required to have reporting in evidence external to the Incident Database. Learn more from the research paper.

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