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
Cruise AV Ran Over Fire Hose in Active Fire Scene
A Cruise AV ran over a fire hose that was being used in an active firefighting area.
DALL-E Mini Reportedly Reinforced or Exacerbated Societal Biases in Its Outputs as Gender and Racial Stereotypes
Publicly deployed open-source model DALL-E Mini was acknowledged by its developers and found by its users to have produced images which reinforced racial and gender biases.
YouTuber Built, Made Publicly Available, and Released Model Trained on Toxic 4chan Posts as Prank
A YouTuber built GPT-4chan, a model based on OpenAI’s GPT-J and trained on posts containing racism, misogyny, and antisemitism collected from 4chan’s “politically incorrect” board, which he made publicly available, and deployed as multiple bots posting thousands of messages on the same 4chan board as a prank.
False Negatives for Water Quality-Associated Beach Closures
Toronto’s use of AI predictive modeling (AIPM) which had replaced existing methodology as the only determiner of beach water quality raised concerns about its accuracy, after allegedly conflicting results were found by a local water advocacy group using traditional means.
Cruise’s Self-Driving Car Involved in a Multiple-Injury Collision at an San Francisco Intersection
A Cruise autonomous vehicle was involved in a crash at an intersection in San Francisco when making a left turn in front of a Toyota Prius traveling in an opposite direction, which caused occupants in both cars to sustain injuries.
Remotely Operated Taser-Armed Drones Proposed by Taser Manufacturer as Defense for School Shootings in the US
Axon Enterprise considered development of remotely operated drones capable of tasering at a target a short distance away as a defense mechanism for mass shootings, despite its internal AI ethics board’s previous objection and condemnation as dangerous and fantastical.
SafeRent AI Screening Tool Allegedly Discriminated Against Housing Voucher Applicants
SafeRent’s AI-powered tenant screening tool used credit history and non-rental-related debts to assign scores, disproportionately penalizing Black and Hispanic renters and those using housing vouchers. The reported discriminatory housing outcomes violated the Fair Housing Act and Massachusetts law. A class action lawsuit (Louis, et al. v. SafeRent Solutions, et al.) resulted in a $2.275 million settlement and changes to SafeRent’s practices.
Cruise's Self-Driving Cars Allegedly Lost Connection to Their Server, Causing Traffic Blockages in San Francisco
Cruise’s autonomous vehicles were shown on video stopping in the middle of the road and causing blockages in San Francisco, as they were disabled allegedly due to lost connection to their company’s server.
Fatal Crash Involving Tesla Full Self-Driving Claims Employee's Life
A Tesla employee, Hans von Ohain, was killed in a crash while allegedly using the Full Self-Driving feature. The car failed to navigate mountain curves, leading to a fatal collision, possibly making von Ohain the first known fatality of the Full Self-Driving feature.
Australian Retailers Reportedly Captured Face Prints of Their Customers without Consent
Major Australian retailers reportedly analyzed in-store footage to capture facial features of their customers without consent, which was criticized by consumer groups as creepy and invasive.
Amazon Fresh Cameras Failed to Register Purchased Items
Amazon Fresh's system of tracking cameras in its cashier-less stores was reported by shoppers for failing to detect items they purchased.
Yahoo Boys Allegedly Employ Real-Time Deepfake Technology in Romance Scams
Scammers from Nigeria, known as "Yahoo Boys," are reportedly utilizing real-time deepfake technology to impersonate individuals during video calls, deceiving victims in romance scams. By allegedly altering their appearance with face-swapping software, they build trust under false identities to defraud targets of substantial sums.
Tesla Owner Activated "Smart Summon" Feature, Causing a Collision with an Aircraft in a Washington Airport
A Tesla Model Y was shown on video slowly crashing into a Vision Jet in Spokane, Washington, allegedly due to its owner activating the “Smart Summon” feature.
Robbers Accessed Drugged Gay Men's Bank Accounts Using Their Phones' Facial Recognition
Gay men in New York City were drugged by robbers who accessed their phones using facial recognition while they were unconscious to transfer funds out of their bank accounts.
Google’s Assistive Writing Feature Provided Allegedly Unnecessary and Clumsy Suggestions
Google’s “inclusive language” feature prompting writers to consider alternatives to non-inclusive words reportedly also recommend alternatives for words such as “landlord” and “motherboard,” which critics said was a form of obtrusive, unnecessary, and bias-reinforcing speech-policing.