A San Francisco judge cleared a proposed class action to proceed, in a case described as the first to broadly target the algorithms behind AI screening software.
A US federal judge has ruled that Workday must face claims its AI-powered hiring software screened out job applicants at other companies in ways that allegedly broke California law and a federal ban on disability discrimination.
The decision, by US District Judge Rita Lin in San Francisco, keeps alive a case that has become a test of whether the vendors behind algorithmic recruiting tools can be held liable for what those tools do.
Lin rejected Workday’s argument that California anti-discrimination law should not reach it when its software screens applicants who are based outside the state and applying for jobs elsewhere, according to Reuters.
That jurisdictional point mattered to the company, because much of its defence rests on the idea that it merely supplies software and does not itself do the hiring, in California or anywhere else.
The case is Mobley v. Workday, a proposed class action first filed in 2023 by lead plaintiff Derek Mobley, who is over 40, African American, and has a disability. It is described as the first of its kind to broadly target the algorithmic decision-making behind AI screening software, rather than the conduct of any single employer that used it.
Mobley alleges he was rejected from scores of jobs routed through Workday’s platform.
Lin’s ruling was not a clean win for the plaintiffs. She dismissed a claim that the software discriminated against Asian American applicants, while letting separate allegations proceed that it disadvantaged Black applicants, women, and people older than 40.
The surviving claims remain allegations the plaintiffs must still prove; the ruling decides only that they may be argued, not that they are true.
The case had already cleared one significant bar. The court previously allowed it to proceed as a collective action covering applicants aged 40 and over who were turned down through Workday’s platform from 24 September 2020 onward, a window that potentially sweeps in a very large number of rejected job-seekers.
The latest decision widens the legal theories that can now be tested at trial.
Workday rejects the claims in full. The company says they are false, that its AI recruiting tools “do not make hiring decisions in California or anywhere else”, and that the technology “looks only at job qualifications, not protected traits like race, age, or disability”.
It adds that it rigorously tests its products under a Responsible AI programme, a defence that, if it holds, would draw a clear line between the vendor and the employers who configure and act on its software.
That line is precisely what is now in dispute. If a screening tool produces biased outcomes, the open question is whether the company that built it can be treated, in legal terms, as an agent of the employers who deploy it.
The stakes reach well beyond one firm. Algorithmic screening has spread quietly through corporate hiring, and an AI-on-AI war in recruitment has focused minds on jobs lost rather than candidates filtered out before a human ever reads their application.
Many of the largest employers in the US run applicants through one platform or another, often without disclosing that an algorithm, not a recruiter, made the first cut.
A finding that the vendor can be sued would put every one of those tools on notice. Scrutiny of how AI systems handle sensitive personal data has sharpened in parallel.
For now, the practical effect of Lin’s ruling is narrow but real: Mobley v. Workday proceeds, and the discovery phase will start to put numbers behind the allegations.
When the original Range Rover debuted in 1970, it introduced something the automotive world had not quite seen before: a vehicle as capable on a muddy trail as it was parked outside a five-star hotel. That unique combination of rugged capability and refined luxury few, if any, SUVs can pull off today. Yet, Land Rover has been doing it for five decades.
The current fifth-generation model, which arrived for 2022, extended that tradition with a cabin that let the quality of its materials speak for itself.
Now, the 2027 Audi Q9 is preparing to challenge it.
The Q9 makes its world debut on July 28th and is Audi’s first true full-size flagship SUV. While the exterior remains under wraps, Audi recently opened the doors for a first look at the interior. What’s inside reveals two very different philosophies about where traditional luxury is headed. Audi is betting on screens, sensors, and immersive technology, while Range Rover, in a notable move for 2027, is bringing physical knobs and controls back to the center console.
One brand is leaning forward. The other is going for a hint of nostalgia. Here is how they stack up.
Two cabins, unique two philosophies
Small details for discerning buyers
The Range Rover has long built its interior reputation on what it leaves out as much as what it puts in.
The current model is characterized by a clean and streamlined dashboard with minimal distractions. Premium materials include Windsor leather on the SE, semi-aniline leather on the SV, and sustainably sourced wood veneers across the lineup.
For 2027, the physical volume knob and Terrain Response selector are returning to the center console, reversing a decision made for the 2024 model year that moved those controls to the touchscreen. It is a small detail that some discerning buyers will appreciate. Although every new vehicle today has a touchscreen of some kind, the allure of a large screen has its limits.
Audi takes the opposite position with the Q9. The cabin moves away from the fingerprint-prone piano-black trim of earlier models, introducing matte and textured finishes alongside new materials. Q9 buyers will find Dinamica microfiber, Nappa leather, fine-grain ash inlays, and a carbon fiber weave with basalt gray accents. New colors, including Tamarind Brown and Stone Beige, complete the palette.
The primary difference between these two flagship SUVs lies in their digital architecture.
Digital Stage vs. Pivi Pro
Three displays or one interface
Audi’s Digital Stage includes three displays across the Q9’s dashboard. The primary OLED touchscreen is front and center, while a driver’s instrument cluster is tucked just beyond the steering wheel.
The third screen is separate for passengers and sure to be enjoyed on long road trips by whoever is sitting there. Front-seat passengers can stream content from their own queue, whether that’s a YouTube video, a show on Netflix, or a podcast playlist, without interfering with anything on the driver’s side.
Range Rover’s Pivi Pro system uses a 13.1-inch central touchscreen as its primary interface, paired with a 12-inch interactive driver display. The system is quick, organized, and accessible within two taps from the home screen. There is no dedicated front passenger display, though 11.4-inch rear seat entertainment screens are available on the Autobiography trim and above.
The dedicated passenger screen may give the Audi Q9 an edge over the Range Rover and other competitors like the Lexus LX, which also does not offer a separate infotainment screen. However, both the Lexus LX and Range Rover offer rear-seat entertainment.
The Mercedes-Benz GLS and Cadillac Escalade, other prime competitors to the Audi Q9, also offer a rear-seat entertainment system, in addition to the separate passenger screen.
At the time of this writing, Audi has not confirmed the availability of a rear seat entertainment system for the Q9. Given the nature of its competitors, however, it seems in Audi’s best interest to include it as an option.
And finally, the return of physical knobs to the Range Rover for 2027 is the sharpest contrast to the Q9’s all-screen approach. Audi is presenting a cabin where most functions require screen interaction. Range Rover, after trying the same approach, concluded its buyers prefer not to hunt through sub-menus for simple volume and terrain controls.
Audi enthusiasts may bristle. Cadillac loyalists might feel the same. But nonetheless, here we are.
Sound systems and the sensory experience
Meridian versus Bang & Olufsen 4D
The Bang & Olufsen 4D sound system in the Q9 includes physical actuators built into the front seats so occupants can feel low-end frequencies, not just hear them. Audi’s Dynamic Interaction Light, an LED strip at the base of the windshield, syncs its color and rhythm to the music, with the color scheme matched to the track’s cover art. Headrest speakers route phone calls and navigation prompts privately to the driver.
Range Rover has a bespoke Meridian Signature Sound System, standard on the Autobiography and above, tuned specifically to the cabin’s acoustics. The SV and SV Ultra models offer a more advanced Meridian configuration, albeit without the seat actuator sensations.
Meanwhile, the Audi Q9 has a seven-seat layout as standard, with an optional six-seat configuration with power-adjustable captain’s chairs in the second row. The outer second-row seat slides and tilts forward to ease third-row access without removing child car seats. Audi also introduces an aluminum rail system in the trunk for securing cargo in three dimensions, and includes roof-rail crossbars as standard.
Range Rover’s Long Wheelbase seven-seat layout has been available since the current generation launched, with semi-aniline heated leather across all three rows as standard on the LWB SE. The Autobiography and SV trims add the aforementioned rear seat entertainment screens, a front-center console refrigerator, and four-zone climate control.
Display Type
OLED
Radar Band Detection
X, K, Ka
The Uniden R8 is a dual-antenna radar detector with directional arrows, known for its long-range detection and false alert filtering capabilities. Comes preloaded with red light and speed camera locations and supports firmware updates for ongoing performance enhancements.
Electric doors and adaptive headlights
Where the Q9 pulls ahead
Three Q9 features have no direct equivalent in the current Range Rover.
All four doors on the Q9 open electronically at the push of a button, up to 90 degrees, with sensors that detect approaching cyclists. Drivers close them by pressing the brake pedal or fastening their seatbelt. Range Rover offers power doors on the SV trims, but Audi makes them standard across the entire Q9 lineup.
The Q9’s panoramic sunroof spans approximately 16 square feet and uses nine individually controllable glass segments that dim electronically. An optional LED package adds 84 lights inside the roof in up to 30 colors, matched to the cabin’s ambient lighting.
The Q9 also brings Digital Matrix LED headlights to U.S. customers for the first time. Using front-facing cameras, the system detects oncoming traffic and selectively masks the light around those vehicles, keeping maximum illumination everywhere else on the road.
According to a recent AAA survey, six in ten U.S. drivers struggle with headlight glare. Range Rover’s Pixel LED headlights, standard on the Autobiography and above, are excellent, but Audi’s matrix approach represents a meaningful step forward in lighting technology for U.S. buyers.
2027 Audi Q9 coming soon
The 2027 Range Rover SE starts at $113,300, with the Autobiography beginning at $159,200. The SV lineup starts at $219,500 and climbs to $275,000 for the Long Wheelbase SV Ultra.
The 2027 Audi Q9 is expected to start around $80,000, with higher trims landing between $90,000 and $95,000.
Audi will reveal the full Q9 details on July 28th, with North American deliveries expected as early as November.
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