the computer says no

This was no human assessor, however: just an algorithm triggered by what was considered an ‘out of character transaction’. The computer says no. My subsequent demand that the bank reimburse me for the extra cost I had incurred as a result of its software vetoing my first purchase attempt, was, needless to say, rejected.

2015 February 22, Dominic Lawson, “DOMINIC LAWSON: The self-service plague and why I'm fed up with doing other people's jobs for them”, in Daily Mail, London: DMG Media, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 23 Feb 2015

My bank accounts were still under my old name, which legally no longer existed. For months I had to carry around a large folder containing my old ID and a copy of the court order declaring my name change. Even then, human clerks and bank tellers would sometimes see the discrepancy, shrug and say “the computer says no” while denying me access to my accounts.

2017 September 13, Chelsea Manning, “Chelsea Manning: The Dystopia We Signed Up for”, in The New York Times, New York, N.Y.: The New York Times Company, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 13 Sep 2017

Vardag, one of the UK’s highest-paid divorce lawyers, said the judge had reached a “bad decision” and that he had “decided, effectively, ‘the computer says no, you’re divorced’”.

2024 April 15, Emine Sinmaz, “Wrong couple get divorced after solicitor ‘clicks wrong button’”, in The Guardian, →ISSN