Dr Nasser “Nas” Mohamed, a prominent gay Arab physician and activist, has filed a civil rights lawsuit against Alphabet Inc.—the parent company of Google—after an AI-powered identity check allegedly flagged him as a potential terrorist and barred him from using a robotaxi service in San Francisco.
Mohamed, who made history as the first openly gay Qatari and now lives in the U.S., says the incident occurred during an attempt to register for Waymo, Alphabet’s autonomous vehicle service.
The lawsuit alleges that Alphabet’s identity verification system, which uses automated name-matching tools, wrongfully connected his name to the U.S. Treasury’s sanctions list—a list commonly used to flag individuals under government watch.
Waymo says it disagrees with the claims.
An AI Mistake with Real-World Impact
“My entire life and my background and my work are quite public,” Mohamed told KQED.
“I’m a physician and an LGBT rights activist based in San Francisco, California. And I’m known for my work within medicine, but also in civil rights work.”
Mohamed says he tried to resolve the error via Waymo’s customer service channels, but was met with silence and roadblocks.
“Literally, there is no mechanism in place for me to pursue, to go and escalate this,” he said.
“They were all dead ends.”
‘AI Must Be Fair and Transparent’
In a statement shared via Instagram, Mohamed explained his motivation for the legal action:
“Today, I filed a civil rights lawsuit related to an incident where an automated identity-verification system incorrectly flagged me and prevented me from accessing a public transportation service.”
“This is not about conflict, it is about clarity, accountability, and ensuring that communities who have historically been subject to bias are not quietly left behind as technology evolves.”
He continued:
“Innovation should move us forward in a way that protects dignity, inclusion, and equal access for all.”
The lawsuit calls for greater transparency, human oversight, and safeguards in the growing field of AI-based identity verification, particularly when used in public services.
From Qatar to San Francisco: A Life of Activism
Dr Mohamed rose to international prominence during the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar, becoming the first openly gay Qatari to publicly denounce the country’s anti-LGBTQ+ laws and human rights abuses.
“I already lost everything – my citizenship, my family and my financial security in Qatar,” he told The Independent at the time.
“Referring to us by anonymous names without faces enforces the view that we are doing something wrong that we need to be ashamed of.”
He later founded the Alwan Foundation, which advocates for LGBTQ+ rights across the Middle East and North Africa.
Today, he also serves as a board member for San Francisco Pride and was the Grand Marshall of the 2023 parade.
A Lawsuit with Wider Implications
Mohamed’s lawsuit highlights a growing concern about bias in automated systems, particularly those developed by Big Tech companies like Alphabet. Critics argue that such systems can perpetuate racial and ethnic profiling, especially when they rely on incomplete or flawed data.
By taking legal action, Mohamed hopes to prevent future misidentifications and to ensure that individuals from marginalised communities aren’t unfairly flagged or denied services by AI-driven platforms.
“This is about making sure automated systems are held to the same standards as people,” he said.
