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
TikTok’s Content Moderation Allegedly Failed to Adequately Take down Videos Promoting Eating Disorders
Videos promoting eating disorders evaded TikTok's automated violation detection system without difficulty via common misspellings of search terms, bypassing its ban of violating hashtags such as "proana" and "anorexia".
Robot in Chinese Shopping Mall Fell off the Escalator, Knocking down Passengers
A shopping guide robot deployed by the Fuzhou Zhongfang Marlboro Mall was shown on video allegedly walking to the escalator by itself, falling down, and knocking over passengers, which prompted its suspension.
FaceApp Predicted Different Genders for Similar User Photos with Slight Variations
FaceApp’s algorithm was reported by a user to have predicted different genders for two mostly identical facial photos with only a slight difference in eyebrow thickness.
Korean Chatbot Luda Reportedly Made Offensive Remarks Towards Minority Groups in South Korea
A Korean interactive chatbot was allegedly shown in screenshots to have used derogatory and bigoted language when asked about lesbians, Black people, and people with disabilities.
Frontline workers protest at Stanford after hospital distributed vaccine to administrators
In 2020, Stanford Medical Center's distribution algorithm only designated 7 of 5,000 vaccines to Medical Residents, who are frontline workers regularly exposed to COVID-19.
Online Trolls Allegedly Abused TikTok’s Automated Content Reporting System to Discriminate against Marginalized Creators
TikTok's automated content reporting system was allegedly abused by online trolls to intentionally misreport content created by users of marginalized groups.
Brand Safety Tech Firms Falsely Claimed Use of AI, Blocking Ads Using Simple Keyword Lists
Brand safety tech firms falsely claimed use of AI, blocking ads using simple keyword lists.
Proctoring Algorithm in Online California Bar Exam Flagged an Unusually High Number of Alleged Cheaters
The proctoring algorithm used in a California bar exam cited a third of thousands of applicants as cheaters, resulting in allegations where exam takers were instructed to prove otherwise without seeing their incriminating video evidence.
Court Rules Deliveroo Used 'Discriminatory' Algorithm
In December 2020, an Italian court ruled that Deliveroo’s employee ‘reliability’ algorithm illegally discriminated against workers with legitimate reasons for cancelling shifts.
Poachers Evaded AI Cameras and Killed Four Rhinos
AI cameras installed by Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife failed to detect poachers when four dehorned rhino carcasses were found.
Facebook Mistakenly Blocked Small Business Ads
Facebook’s AI mistakenly blocked advertisements by small and struggling businesses, after the company allegedly leaned more on algorithms to monitor ads on the platform with little review from human moderators.
YouTube Recommendation Reportedly Pushed Election Fraud Content to Skeptics Disproportionately
YouTube's recommendation algorithm allegedly pushed 2020's US Presidential Election fraud content to users most skeptical of the election's legitimacy disproportionately compared to least skeptical users.
Autonomous Roborace Car Drove Directly into a Wall
An autonomous Roborace car drove itself into a wall in round one of the Season Beta 1.1 race.
AI mistakes referee’s bald head for football — hilarity ensued
In a Scottish soccer match the AI-enabled ball-tracking camera used to livestream the game repeatedly tracked an official’s bald head as though it were the soccer ball.
AI Spam Filters Allegedly Block Legitimate Emails Based on Biased Keyword Detection
AlgorithmWatch tested spam filtering algorithms across Gmail, Yahoo, Outlook, GMX, and LaPoste. Their findings reportedly showed that Microsoft Outlook’s spam filter flagged emails based on specific keywords that led to racial and content-based biases blocking legitimate communications. Emails mentioning Nigeria or containing certain financial and sexual health terms were found to be disproportionately marked as spam.