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
289 incidents
Hiring Algorithms Provided Invalid Positive Results for Interview Responses in German
Two AI interview softwares provided positive but invalid results such as "competent" English proficiency and high match percentage for interview responses given in German by reporters.
Maryland Police Allegedly Relied on Facial Recognition Lead in Wrongful Arrest and Detention of Kimberlee Williams
Kimberlee Williams was reportedly arrested in Oklahoma on Maryland warrants after police allegedly relied on a facial recognition lead that incorrectly identified her as a suspect in bank fraud cases. The ACLU said Williams had never been to Maryland, police failed to investigate alibi evidence placing her in Oklahoma, and she spent about six months in jail before the charges were dropped.
McDonald's Reportedly Ends IBM Partnership After AI Drive-Thru Ordering Errors at U.S. Locations
Between 2021 and mid-2024, McDonald's reportedly piloted an AI-enabled voice ordering system that was developed with IBM and based on its 2019 acquisition of Apprente. It was reportedly deployed at at over 100 U.S. drive-thrus. Social media posts alleged frequent misorders, such as adding unwanted items, mixing adjacent lane orders, and ignoring corrections. In June 2024, McDonald's confirmed it ended the IBM pilot, citing plans to explore alternative voice-AI vendors.
Tesla FSD Misidentified Truck Hauling Traffic Lights as Trail of Traffic Lights
A Tesla driver posted on Twitter his Tesla FSD's "glitch," misidentifying deactivated traffic lights being carried by a truck as a constant trail of traffic lights while traveling at high speed on a highway.
Waymo Self-Driving Taxi Reportedly Behaved Unexpectedly, Driving away from Support Crew
A Waymo self-driving taxi car was reportedly shown on video stranded on a road in Arizona while carrying a passenger, suddenly driving away from the company's roadside assistance worker, and ended up being stuck farther down the road.
Tesla Phantom Braking Complaints Surged, Allegedly Linked to Tesla Vision Rollout
In late 2021, Tesla owners’ complaints to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration about sudden unexpected automatic braking rapidly increased, coinciding with when radar was no longer equipped in its Model 3 and Model Y vehicles.
Betfair's Machine-Learning Risk System Reportedly Failed to Flag Luke Ashton Before Gambling-Related Suicide in England
In England, Luke Ashton died by suicide on April 22, 2021 after a longstanding gambling disorder. A 2023 inquest and subsequent Prevention of Future Deaths report found that Betfair had assessed him as a low-risk gambler, did not meaningfully intervene between 2019 and his death, and used an algorithm that failed to flag his escalating gambling activity even as his betting intensified and his financial exposure grew.
Auto-Insurance Photo-Based Estimation Allegedly Gave Inaccurate Repair Prices Frequently
Auto-insurance companies' photo-based estimation of repair price was alleged by repair shop owners and industry groups as providing inaccurate estimates, causing damaged cars to stay in the shop longer.
How French welfare services are creating ‘robo-debt’
A French welfare office using software to automatically evaluate cases incorrectly notified a woman receiving benefits that she owed €542.
Tesla on Autopilot Crashed Parked Michigan Police Car on Interstate
A Tesla Model Y on Autopilot collided with a parked Michigan State Police (MSP) car which had its emergency lights on, in Eaton County, Michigan, although no one was injured.
Dartmouth's Geisel School of Medicine Reportedly Used Canvas Activity Logs to Accuse Students of Cheating
Dartmouth's Geisel School of Medicine reportedly used Canvas learning-management activity logs and an internal analysis process to investigate remote-exam cheating during the 2020–2021 academic year. Seventeen medical students were charged after the school inferred that they accessed course materials during exams, but students and outside technical reviewers said automated Canvas activity may have been misread as intentional misconduct. Dartmouth later dropped the charges.
Year-long AI Surveillance Pilot in Two South Australian Aged Care Facilities Reportedly Overwhelmed Staff with False Positives
Between March 2021 and March 2022, an AI-enabled video and audio monitoring system was trialed in two South Australian aged care facilities. According to an independent audit commissioned by South Australia Health, the system produced over 12,000 false alerts, overwhelming staff and contributing to at least one missed real incident. The report concluded the system did not reach accuracy levels acceptable to staff or management during the pilot.
Facebook's Automated Tools Failed to Adequately Remove Hate Speech, Violence, and Incitement
Facebook's automated moderation tools were shown by internal documents performing incomparably to human moderators, and accounting for only a small fraction of hate speech, violence, and incitement content removal.
Manufacturing Robot Failure Caused Factory Worker's Death in India
A sensor snag resulted in an automotive parts factory robot falling on a factory worker in India
Facebook’s and Twitter's Automated Content Moderation Reportedly Failed to Effectively Enforce Violation Rules for Small Language Groups
Facebook's and Twitter were not able to sufficiently moderate content of small language groups such as the Balkan languages using AI, allegedly due to the lack of investment in human moderation and difficulty in AI-solution design for the languages.