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
961 incidents
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.
Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter Cited Errors in Automated Systems as Cause for Blocking pro-Palestinian Content on Israeli-Palestinian Conflict
Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter wrongly blocked or restricted millions of pro-Palestinian posts and accounts related to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, citing errors in their automated content moderation system.
Replika's AI Partners Reportedly Sexually Harassed Users
Replika's "AI companions" were reported by users for sexually harassing them, such as sending unwanted sexual messages or behaving aggressively.
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.
Facebook Alleged in Lawsuit Misleading Public about Effects of Algorithms on Children
Facebook was alleged in a lawsuit by the Ohio Attorney General purposely misleading the public about the control of its algorithms and their negative effects on children's well-being, which violated securities law.
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.
Algorithmic Staffing Failures Linked to Resident Deaths at Leading Assisted-Living Chain Brookdale
Brookdale Senior Living's algorithm-based staffing system, "Service Alignment," reportedly left facilities understaffed, leading to critical incidents. For example, on April 21, 2021, Louise Walker, a resident at Brookdale's Jacksonville facility, died after falling and being left unattended for over two hours. State investigators cited Brookdale for medical neglect. The algorithm has been linked to multiple incidents of neglect, injuries, and deaths, prompting lawsuits.
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.
Black Uber Eats Driver Allegedly Subjected to Excessive Photo Checks and Dismissed via FRT Results
A lawsuit by a former Uber Eats delivery driver alleged the company to have wrongfully dismissed him due to frequent false mismatches of his verification selfies, and discriminated against him via excessive verification checks.
Players Manipulated GPT-3-Powered Game to Generate Sexually Explicit Material Involving Children
Latitude's GPT-3-powered game AI Dungeon was reportedly abused by some players who manipulated its AI to generate sexually explicit stories involving children.
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.
Amazon's Monitoring System Allegedly Pushed Delivery Drivers to Prioritize Speed over Safety, Leading to Crash
A lawsuit cited Amazon as liable in a crash involving its delivery driver, alleging that Amazon’s AI-powered driver monitoring system pushed drivers to prioritize speed over safety.
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* Oct 2026, ~320 projected full year
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