David Heinemeier Hansson—DHH publicly exposed Apple Card algorithm's gender discrimination, triggering regulatory investigation
In November 2019, DHH posted a viral thread exposing that the Apple Card algorithm gave him a credit limit 20x higher than his wife's despite her having a longer credit history and higher credit score. Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak confirmed similar disparity. The New York State Department of Financial Services launched an investigation into Goldman Sachs and the Apple Card program as a result.
Scoring Impact
| Topic | Direction | Relevance | Contribution |
|---|---|---|---|
| Algorithmic Fairness | +toward | primary | +1.00 |
| Gender Equity | +toward | secondary | +0.50 |
| Overall incident score = | +0.443 | ||
Score = avg(topic contributions) × significance (medium ×1) × confidence (0.59)
Evidence (1 signal)
DHH's viral thread about Apple Card gender bias triggered NY regulatory investigation
DHH posted about receiving 20x the credit limit of his wife on the Apple Card. New York State Department of Financial Services launched an investigation into Goldman Sachs. Apple co-founder Wozniak confirmed similar disparity.