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
1,751 incidents
Algorithm Assessing Risk Faced by Victims of Gender Violence Misclassified Low-Risk Cases, Allegedly Leading to Homicide of Women and Children in Spain
In Spain, the algorithm that assesses recidivism risk in gender violence, VioGén, has allegedly critically underestimated the level of risk in a series of cases that ended in homicide of women and children since its first deployment.
Automated Adult Content Detection Tools Showed Bias against Women Bodies
Automated content moderation tools to detect sexual explicitness or "raciness" reportedly exhibited bias against women bodies, resulting in suppression of reach despite not breaking platform policies.
Virginia Courts’ Algorithmic Recidivism Risk Assessment Failed to Lower Incarceration Rates
Virginia courts’ use of algorithmic predictions of future offending risks were found by researchers failing to reduce incarceration rates, showed racial and age disparities in risk scores and its application, and neither exacerbated or ameliorated historical racial differences in sentencing.
Target Suggested Maternity-Related Advertisements to a Teenage Girl's Home, Allegedly Correctly Predicting Her Pregnancy via Algorithm
Target recommended maternity-related items to a family in Atlanta via ads, allegedly predicting their teenage daughter’s pregnancy before her father did, although critics have called into question the predictability of the algorithm and the authenticity of its claims.
Patriot Missile System Misclassified US Navy Aircraft, Killing Pilot Upon Approval to Fire
US Navy's Patriot missile system misidentified an American Navy F/A-18C Hornet as an enemy projectile, prompting an operator to fire two missiles at the aircraft, which killed the pilot.
US Air Force's Patriot Missile Mistakenly Launched at Ally Fighter Jet, Killing Two
Acting on the recommendation of their Patriot missile system, American Air Force mistakenly launched the missile at an ally UK Tornado fighter jet, which killed two crew members on board.
Kidney Testing Method Allegedly Underestimated Risk of Black Patients
Decades-long use of the estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) method to test kidney function which considers race has been criticized by physicians and medical students for its racist history and inaccuracy against Black patients.
St George's Hospital Medical School allegedly Automated Admissions with Discriminatory Results
From 1982 to 1986, St George's Hospital Medical School used a program to automate a portion of their admissions process that allegedly discriminated against women and members of ethnic minorities.
Inefficiencies in the United States Resident Matching Program
Alvin Roth, a Ph.D at the University of Pittsburgh, describes the National Resident Matching Program (NRMP) and suggests future changes that are needed in the algorithm used to match recently graduated medical students to their residency programs.
Error in Pepsi's Number Generation System Led to Decades-Long Damages in the Philippines
Pepsi's number generation system determining daily winners in its Number Fever promotion in the Philippines mistakenly produced a number held by thousands which resulted in riots, deaths, conspiracy theories, and decades of lawsuits.
Nuclear False Alarm
An alert of five incoming intercontinental ballistic missiles was properly identified as a false-positive by the Soviet Union operator Stanislov Petrov.