5 stories of how the use of AI is impacting everyday life - TechEquity Collaborative To underline the need for change and help you understand when AI might impact you, we rounded up five stories where AI was involved in harm.

Mary was left to rent a more expensive apartment where the management didn’t use an algorithmic tenant screening tool.

This is one of many stories about how the use of AI is impacting people’s lives. Learn more:
techequity.us/2026/01/21/5...

She didn’t get an apartment because of an AI-generated score – and sued to help others avoid the same fate Despite a stellar reference from a landlord of 17 years, Mary Louis was rejected after being screened by firm SafeRent

So why did they reject her? An AI-powered tenant screening tool assigned her a score of 324; she needed to get at least a 443 to qualify.

@theguardian.com www.theguardian.com/technology/2...

In 2021, a property management company rejected Mary Louis’s housing application.

She admittedly didn’t have the best credit score, but she had a great rec from her 17-year landlord, who said she always paid her rent on time, and a housing voucher that would guarantee some rent to the landlord.

California's AI Future  - TechEquity Collaborative A memo series for California's leaders and the public on how to ensure AI becomes a force for shared prosperity—not exploitation and extraction.

To help guide the next Governor and the state’s future leaders as they take on this enormous challenge, we have prepared a set of memos that together paint a picture of what it would mean for AI to work for humans rather than against them.

Check them out: techequity.us/californias-...

California is home to most of the world's largest AI developers, which means it is also where the future of this technology will be decided.

The next Governor of California will take office at the dawn of a new technological age.

From jobs to justice, AI is transforming society, and its use is already creating profound consequences for us all.

‘Everyone is Replaceable’: Death Rattles Oregon Amazon Facility A worker died at Amazon’s Troutdale warehouse last week. Employees were told to look away.

A worker died at an Amazon warehouse in Oregon, and workers were told to just keep going about their jobs.

www.thewesternedge.media/p/everyone-i...

That's it for this week. Leave your #TopFive in the comments, and follow us for more news about tech's impact on the economy.

Meta’s New AI Asked for My Raw Health Data—and Gave Me Terrible Advice Meta’s Muse Spark model offers to analyze users’ health data, including lab results. Beyond the obvious privacy risks, it’s not a capable stand-in for a real doctor.

5) Give Meta’s new AI all of your very sensitive personal health data, and it’ll give you terrible advice? That doesn’t feel like an equitable trade-off. @wired.com

www.wired.com/story/metas-...

Elon Musk’s xAI Sues Colorado Over AI Anti-Discrimination Law Elon Musk’s artificial intelligence company xAI sued Colorado to block a new state law requiring tech companies to establish safeguards to prevent discrimination by autonomous tools in certain employm...

4) Elon Musk’s xAI is suing Colorado over its algorithmic-bias law—which seeks to regulate how businesses use AI tools in high-stakes decisions, such as employment, health care, and housing—citing “free speech” protections. @bloomberglaw.com @madlinbmek.bsky.social

www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

Senators Call on Court to Examine 'Suspicious Circumstances' Around Live Nation Settlement Amy Klobuchar, Elizabeth Warren, and more are calling on the court to investigate the 'suspicious circumstances' surrounding Live Nation's settlement.

But it isn’t over for Live Nation: Senators are suspicious that political interests may have played a role in the deal, and other antitrust lawsuits are moving forward.

@rollingstone.com www.rollingstone.com/music/music-...

@theverge.com @laurenfeiner.bsky.social www.theverge.com/policy/91268...

Justice Department and Live Nation Reach Settlement Terms in Antitrust Case

3) Live Nation is staying intact after a settlement with the Department of Justice, only one week into the antitrust trial. @nytimes.com @oliviabensimon.bsky.social

www.nytimes.com/2026/03/09/a...

Meta Cafeteria Workers Did What Execs Won’t: Took on ICE and Won In Seattle, activists inside tech giants are leaning into grassroots fundraising and peer support as petitions and protests draw little response from executives.

2) Meta cafeteria workers found that they couldn’t rely on their employer to protect them from ICE—but that they could rely on each other. @wired.com @peard33.bsky.social

www.wired.com/story/how-me...

An Amazon warehouse worker died on the job at Oregon facility | TechCrunch Though Amazon has faced issues with warehouse safety, the company said that the death was not work related.

While we don’t know the official cause of death, there have been several reports/lawsuits alleging that Amazon’s drive for “efficiency” results in injuries. @techcrunch.com @amanda.omg.lol

techcrunch.com/2026/04/13/a...

‘Everyone is Replaceable’: Death Rattles Oregon Amazon Facility A worker died at Amazon’s Troutdale warehouse last week. Employees were told to look away.

1) A worker died at an Amazon warehouse in Oregon, and workers were told to just keep going about their jobs. @thewesternedge.bsky.social @ryanjhaas.bsky.social

www.thewesternedge.media/p/everyone-i...

It's Friday! Which means it's time for the #TopFive things you need to read this week to understand tech’s impact on our economy with TechEquity Founder and CEO @catherinebracy.com:

Texas losing a billion dollars a year on data center tax break The tax break is one of the state’s costliest incentive programs and soon to be the most expensive of its kind in the nation.

Tax breaks for data centers will cost Texas $3.2 billion in sales tax revenue over the next 2 years. Ouch.

www.texastribune.org/2026/04/08/t...

Companies are using AI to put the squeeze on California families—but it doesn't have to be this way - TechEquity Collaborative Existing guardrails against corporate overreach have not held, and California families are literally paying the price. But it doesn’t have to be this way.

Don’t have time to read the full memo?

Here’s the TL;DR: techequity.us/2026/04/07/a...

AI & Affordability in California - TechEquity Collaborative How AI is quietly driving up the cost of rent, utilities, and everyday essentials for California families—and what leaders can do about it.

California leaders can set an agenda that includes limiting the collection of Californians’ most sensitive information and ensuring it can’t be used to raise prices, as we detail in a recent memo written in partnership with @economicsecurityproject.org

techequity.us/2026/04/01/a...

They’re watching you 👀 and maybe charging you more for everyday necessities.

Surveillance pricing allows companies to use personal data profiles to charge individualized maximum prices, as documented in cases involving Instacart, Target, and hotel booking platforms.

Advocacy Manager - TechEquity Collaborative We're looking for someone with 2–4 years of experience in project/campaign management, program/campaign coordination, or administrative support to join our team

The hiring process will include:
- A 15-20 minute phone screen with our COO.
- An interview with our VP of Advocacy and Project Manager, which lasts 45- 60 minutes
- A final interview is with our CEO and Chief Advocacy Officer, which lasts 45-60 minutes

Apply today! techequity.us/our-team/adv...

We’re hiring a new Advocacy Manager!

The Advocacy Manager will provide essential project coordination and operational support to our advocacy team, ensuring campaigns are well-structured, materials are current, and all stakeholders are informed and aligned.

Workers First AI Summit: Full Event YouTube video by AFL-CIO

Want to learn more?

There’s a full recording of the summit live on YouTube: www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lqt2...

At the summit, union members and staff, philanthropists, advocates, industry leaders, researchers, and educators discussed how to "ensure that workers have an active voice in shaping how AI is developed and deployed in the workplace and society."

Workers are at the forefront of this era of AI. Their voices are essential in every AI policy conversation, ending the history of sidelining their expertise.

That’s why TechEquity's SVP of Labor Programs @tnewmsblues.bsky.social attended @aflcio.org's Tech Institute's Workers First AI Summit.

Meta, Google under attack as court cases bypass 30-year-old legal shield Internet platforms have long been able to rely on special protections to avoid liability for what takes place on their sites. But that may be changing.

Over the past 2 weeks, Meta and Google have been found liable and/or negligent in different cases involving online child wellbeing. But this isn't the exact win some advocates wanted.

www.cnbc.com/2026/04/03/m...

www.eff.org/deeplinks/20...

BREAKING: A jury has found Live Nation and Ticketmaster to be an illegal monopoly that overcharges fans.

After the federal government settled the case, 34 states kept pursuing the giant ticket and concert company.

Now, the states have won.

The Surveillance Pricing Protection Act - AB 2564 - TechEquity Collaborative Surveillance pricing can be both predatory and discriminatory. That’s why we support the Surveillance Pricing Protection Act (AB 2564).

This is because surveillance pricing is ultimately about taking more money out of your wallet to increase profits.

But it doesn’t have to be this way. That’s why we support the Surveillance Pricing Protection Act (AB 2564). Learn more: techequity.us/surveillance...

In a casino, the house always wins. Surveillance pricing is just a digital version of the same game—your data is the deck, and it's stacked against you.

Sometimes you’ll be charged 20% more than the person next to you. Or you’ll get a 10% off coupon for a shirt that was just marked up 15%.

Advocacy Manager - TechEquity Collaborative We're looking for someone with 2–4 years of experience in project/campaign management, program/campaign coordination, or administrative support to join our team

Sound like you?

Read the full job description to see if you’re a fit: techequity.us/our-team/adv...

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