AI Incidents
Real-world cases where AI systems caused harm, classified by risk domain and entity. Data sourced from
AIID and classified by MIT AI Risk Initiative. CC BY-SA 4.0
566 incidents
Amazon Reportedly Recommends Explosive-Producing Ingredients as 'Frequently Bought Together' Items for Chemicals
Amazon was reported to have shown chemical combinations for producing explosives and incendiary devices as "frequently bought together" items via automated recommendation.
'Jewish Baby Strollers' Provided Antisemitic Google Images, Allegedly Resulting from Hate Speech Campaign
Results for Google Images searches for "Jewish baby strollers" reportedly showed offensive, antisemitic results, allegedly a result of a coordinated hate-speech campaign involving malicious actors on 4chan.
Male College Freshman Allegedly Made Porn Deepfakes Using Female Friend's Face
A female college student's face was superimposed on another woman's body in deepfake pornographic videos and shared on 4chan allegedly by a male student whose friendship with her fell apart during freshman year.
RealPage's YieldStar Allegedly Facilitated Rent Price Coordination Among Canadian Landlords
RealPage’s YieldStar algorithm is alleged to have enabled Canadian landlords to coordinate rental pricing by utilizing sensitive, non-public market data. The software has been accused of contributing to rent increases in non-rent-controlled units through purported collusion and artificial price inflation. Tenants have reported significant rent hikes, which they attribute to landlords' use of the algorithm.
Government Deployed Extreme Surveillance Technologies to Monitor and Target Muslim Minorities in Xinjiang
A suite of AI-powered digital surveillance systems involving facial recognition and analysis of biometric data were deployed by the Chinese government in Xinjiang to monitor and discriminate local Uyghur and other Turkic Muslims.
Facebook Ad-Approval Algorithm Allegedly Missed Fraudulent Ads via Simple URL Checks
Facebook’s advertisement-approval algorithm was reported by a security analyst to have neglected simple checks for domain URLs, leaving its users at risk of fraudulent ads.
Facial Recognition Service Abused to Target Russian Porn Actresses
The facial recognition software FindFace allowing its users to match photos to people’s social media pages on Vkontakte was reportedly abused to de-anonymize and harass Russian women who appeared in pornography and alleged sex workers.
YouTube Recommendations Allegedly Promoted Radicalizing Material Contributing to Terrorist Acts
Family of Nohemi Gonzalez alleged YouTube recommendation systems led people to propaganda videos for the Islamic State which subsequently radicalized them to carry out the killing of 130 people in the 2015 Paris terrorist attack, including Ms. Gonzalez.
YouTube Recommendations Implicated in Political Radicalization of User
YouTube’s personalization and recommendation algorithms were alleged to have pushed and exposed its young male users to political extremism and misinformation, driving them towards far-right ideologies such as neo-Nazism and white supremacy.
Uber Deployed Secret Program To Deny Local Authorities Rides
Uber developed a secret program "Greyball" which prevented known law enforcement officers in areas where its service violated regulations from receiving rides.
2010 Market Flash Crash
A modified algorithm was able to cause dramatic price volatility and disrupted trading in the US stock exchange.