algorithms

Insurers in the United States are using artificial intelligence algorithms to help decide whether to approve or deny coverage for medical care, including for patients in UnitedHealthcare, Medicare, Cigna and Humana plans. Vox's Good Medicine newsletter examines the practice, and critics warn the tools can wrongly delay or deny treatments that doctors consider necessary.

The US military has changed how it uses artificial intelligence in lethal targeting decisions following a strike that hit a school in Minab, Iran. The reforms reportedly tighten oversight of AI-assisted targeting processes, raising questions about accountability for automated weapons systems and the risks of civilian casualties in AI-driven warfare.

Human Rights Watch has published a piece titled 'The Inhumanity of the Algorithms', arguing that algorithmic systems used by governments and companies can produce harmful, dehumanising outcomes. The organisation is drawing attention to the human cost of automated decision-making and calling for stronger accountability over how such technologies affect people's rights.