AI Incident Database
Browse AI incidents
Every incident record (metadata only) from the weekly snapshot of 2026-09-07. Filter, then export the selection with its licence attached; each row links to the full record and its reports.
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Unreliable ShotSpotter Audio Previously Used to Convict Chicago Man in Murder Case AIID ↗
ShotSpotter audios were previously admitted to convict an innocent Black man in a murder case in Chicago, resulted in his nearly-one-year-long arrest before being dismissed by prosecutors as insufficient evidence.
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YouTube Auto-Moderation Reportedly Banned Women of Sex Tech Conference AIID ↗
YouTube’s automated content moderation tool erroneously removed The Women of Sex Tech conference's live-streamed event and banned the conference from the platform, despite not violating the platform’s sexual content policies.
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Walmart's Bagging-Detection False Positives Exposed Workers to Health Risk AIID ↗
Walmart's theft-deterring bagging-detection system allegedly exposed workers to health risks during the coronavirus pandemic when its false positives prompted workers to unnecessarily step in to resolve the issue.
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Facebook Content Moderators Demand Better Working Conditions Due to Allegedly Inadequate AI Content Moderation AIID ↗
Content moderators and employees at Facebook demand better working conditions, as automated content moderation system allegedly failed to achieve sufficient performance and exposed human reviewers to psychologically hazardous content such as graphic violence and child abuse.
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Bug in Facebook’s Anti-Spam Filter Allegedly Blocked Legitimate Posts about COVID-19 AIID ↗
Facebook was reported by users for blocking posts of legitimate news about the coronavirus pandemic, allegedly due to a bug in an anti-spam system.
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Permanent Removal of Social Media Content via Automated Tools Allegedly Prevented Investigative Efforts AIID ↗
Automated permanent removal of violating social media content, such as terrorism, violent extremism, and hate speech, without archival has allegedly hindered the potential use of this content for investigating serious crimes and hampered efforts in criminal accountability.
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EasyMile Self-Driving Shuttle Unexpectedly Stopped Mid-Route, Injuring a Passenger AIID ↗
A self-driving shuttle deployed by Smart Columbus in Linden neighborhood unexpectedly stopped on the street, which caused a woman to fall onto the floor from her seat.
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Facebook Gave Vulgar English Translation of Chinese President's Name AIID ↗
Facebook provided a vulgar Burmese-English translation of the Chinese president's name in posts of an official Burmese politician's Facebook page announcing his visit.
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COVID-19 Detection and Prognostication Models Allegedly Flagged for Methodological Flaws and Underlying Biases AIID ↗
Peer-review of papers about COVID-19 detection and prognostication algorithms from 2020, including deployed models, revealed none to be ready for clinical use, due to methodological flaws and underlying biases such as lacking external validation or not specifying data sources and model training details.
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Tesla on Autopilot Fatally Crashed into Parked Fire Truck in Indiana AIID ↗
A Tesla on Autopilot mode failed to see a parked fire truck and crashed into its rear on an interstate in Indiana, causing the death of an Arizona woman.
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Tesla Driver on Autopilot Ran a Red Light, Crashing into a Car and Killing Two People in Los Angeles AIID ↗
In 2019, a Tesla Model S driver on Autopilot mode reportedly went through a red light and crashed into a Honda Civic, killing two people in Gardena, Los Angeles.
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Tesla Model 3 Crashed into Police Patrol Car on Connecticut Highway AIID ↗
A Tesla Model 3 on Autopilot slammed into a parked car of patrol police officers who stopped to assist a stranded motorist on the interstate in Norwalk, Connecticut.
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Cross-Jurisdictional Facial Recognition Misidentification by NYPD Leads to Wrongful Arrest and Four-Year Jail Time in New Jersey AIID ↗
In 2019, facial recognition technology misidentified Francisco Arteaga as a suspect in an armed robbery in New Jersey. The incident led to nearly four years of pretrial incarceration. Despite having an alibi, Arteaga was charged based on the flawed identification. The legal battle that followed resulted in a court ruling requiring police to reveal details about the algorithms used in facial recognition. The process exposed significant gaps in transparency and accountability.
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Knightscope's Park Patrol Robot Ignored Bystander Pressing Emergency Button to Alert Police about Fight AIID ↗
A Knightscope K5 autonomous "police" robot patrolling Huntington Park, California failed to respond to an onlooker who attempted to activate its emergency alert button when a nearby fight broke out.
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Thai Wallet App's Facial Recognition Errors Created Registration Issues for Government Programs AIID ↗
A Thai wallet app failed to recognize people’s faces, resulting in citizens and disproportionately elders unable to sign up for Thai government’s cash handout and co-pay programs or having to wait in long queues at local ATMs for authentication.
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Waze Allegedly Frequently Routed Drivers through the Town of Los Gatos, Blocking Its Single Wildfire Escape Route AIID ↗
Waze app was blamed by Los Gatos town residents for contributing to high wildfire hazard risk via allegedly routing weekend beach-going drivers through their neighborhoods, effectively choking off their single escape route in the event of a medical emergency or wildfire.
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Tesla Model 3 on Autopilot Crashed into a Ford Explorer Pickup, Killing a Fifteen-Year-Old in California AIID ↗
A Tesla Model 3 on Autopilot mode crashed into a pickup on a California freeway, where data and video from the company showed neither Autopilot nor the driver slowing the vehicle until seconds before the crash.
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Sound Intelligence's Aggression Detector Misidentified Innocuous Sounds AIID ↗
Sound Intelligence's "aggression detection" algorithm deployed by schools reportedly contained high rates of false positive, misclassifying laughing, coughing, cheering, and loud discussions.
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Length of Stay False Diagnosis Cut Off Insurer's Payment for Treatment of Elderly Woman AIID ↗
An elderly Wisconsin woman was algorithmically determined to have a rapid recovery, an output which the insurer based on to cut off payment for her treatment despite medical notes showing her still experiencing debilitating pain.
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Tesla Autopilot’s Lane Recognition Allegedly Vulnerable to Adversarial Attacks AIID ↗
Tencent Keen Security Lab conducted security research into Tesla’s Autopilot system and identified crafted adversarial samples and remote controlling via wireless gamepad as vulnerabilities to its system, although the company called into question their real-world practicality. This incident has been downgraded to an issue as it does not meet current ingestion criteria.
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Tesla on Autopilot Crashed into Trailer Truck in Florida, Killing Driver AIID ↗
A Tesla Model 3 driver switched on Autopilot seconds before the crash into the underbelly of a tractor-trailer on a highway in Florida, killing the Tesla driver.
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Model 3 Tesla on Autopilot Crashed into a Truck in Florida, Killing Driver AIID ↗
In Florida, a Model 3 Tesla on Autopilot mode crashed into a tractor-trailer truck, killing the 50-year-old driver.
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Apple Maps Allegedly Directed Ski Trip Couple Onto Unpaved Road in the Mountains AIID ↗
Near Los Angeles, Apple Maps allegedly directed a couple on a ski trip in the mountains toward into an unconventional route out of town, where the drivers found themselves lost and stuck on an unpaved road in the snow.
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Warehouse robot ruptures can of bear spray and injures workers AIID ↗
Twenty-four Amazon workers in New Jersey were hospitalized after a robot punctured a can of bear repellent spray in a warehouse.
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Tumblr Automated Pornography-Detecting Algorithms Erroneously Flagged Inoffensive Images as Explicit AIID ↗
Tumblr’s automated tools to identify adult content were reported to have incorrectly flagged inoffensive images as explicit, following its announcement to ban all adult content on the platform.
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Reported Automated License Plate Reader Alert on Previously Stolen Rental Car Leads to Alleged Wrongful Detainment in California AIID ↗
A purportedly automated license plate reader allegedly flagged a rental car in California as stolen, although reports indicate it had already been recovered. Police reportedly conducted a high-risk stop and detained the occupants at gunpoint before confirming their innocence. The driver later alleged excessive force and database errors in a federal lawsuit.
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Wrongful Attempted Arrest for Apple Store Thefts Due to NYPD’s Facial Misidentification AIID ↗
New York Police Department (NYPD)’s facial recognition system falsely connected a Black teenager to a series of thefts at Apple stores, which resulted in his wrongful attempted arrest.
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Picture of Woman on Side of Bus Shamed for Jaywalking AIID ↗
Facial recognition system in China mistakes celebrity's face on moving billboard for jaywalker
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Crashes with Maneuvering Characteristics Augmentation System (MCAS) AIID ↗
A Boeing 737 crashed into the sea, killing 189 people, after faulty sensor data caused an automated manuevering system to repeatedly push the plane's nose downward.
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Swedish Contraceptive App, Natural Cycles, Allegedly Failed to Correctly Map Menstrual Cycle AIID ↗
Some women using the contraceptive app, Natural Cycles, reported unwanted pregnancies, revealing its algorithm's difficulties in mapping menstrual cycles.
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Uber Allegedly Wrongfully Accused Drivers of Fraud via Automated Systems AIID ↗
Uber was alleged in a lawsuit to have wrongfully accused its drivers in the UK and Portugal of fraudulent activity through automated systems, which resulted in their dismissal without a right to appeal.
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Facebook’s Automated Content Moderation Tool Flagged a Post Containing Parts of the Declaration of Independence as Hate Speech by Mistake AIID ↗
Facebook’s content moderation algorithm was acknowledged by the company to have flagged excerpts of the Declaration of Independence posted by a small newspaper in Texas as hate speech by mistake.
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Two Cruise Autonomous Vehicles Collided with Each Other in California AIID ↗
In San Francisco, an autonomous Cruise Chevrolet Bolt collided with another Cruise vehicle driven by a Cruise human employee, causing minor scuffs to the cars but no human injuries.
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Tesla on Autopilot Crashed into Parked Police Car in California AIID ↗
A Tesla sedan on Autopilot mode collided with a parked Laguna Beach Police Department car, resulting in minor injuries for its driver in Laguna Beach, California.
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Tesla Autopilot Allegedly Malfunctioned in a Non-Fatal Collision in Greece AIID ↗
Autopilot was alleged by its Tesla Model 3 driver to have unexpectedly malfunctioned, veering right without warning and crashing into a road divider near Thessaloniki, Greece, which resulted in damages to its wheel and door but no injury to the driver.
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Facebook’s Automated Removal of Content Featuring Nudity-Containing Artworks Denounced as Censorship AIID ↗
Facebook’s removal of posts featuring renowned artworks by many historical artists and their promotional content due to nudity via both automated and human-moderated means were condemned by critics, such as museums and tourism boards, as cultural censorship and prevention of artwork promotion.
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Tesla Model X on Autopilot Missed Parked Vehicles and Pedestrians, Killing Motorcyclist in Japan AIID ↗
A Tesla Model X operated on Autopilot reportedly failed to recognize the parked motorcycles, pedestrians, and van in its path in Kanagawa, Japan, and ran over a motorcyclist who previously stopped when a member of his motorcyclist group was involved in an accident.
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All Image Captions Produced are Violent AIID ↗
MIT Media Lab researchers create AI-powered "psychopath" named Norman by training a model on "dark corners" of Reddit.
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Tesla Model X on Autopilot Crashed into California Highway Barrier, Killing Driver AIID ↗
A Tesla Model X P100D operating on Autopilot's Traffic-Aware Cruise Control (TACC) and Autosteer system allegedly accelerated above the speed limit of a highway in Mountain View, California, and steered itself directly into a barrier, resulting in its driver’s death.
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Uber AV Killed Pedestrian in Arizona AIID ↗
An Uber autonomous vehicle (AV) in autonomous mode struck and killed a pedestrian in Tempe, Arizona.
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Australian Telco’s Incident Management Bot Excessively Sent Technicians in the Field by Mistake, Allegedly Costing Millions AIID ↗
In early 2018, an Australian telecommunications company’s incident management AI excessively deployed technicians into the field, and was allegedly unable to be stopped by the automation team.
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Google Photo Merge Decapitates Subject AIID ↗
Google Photos' AI Assistant created a strange hybrid photograph when merging three different pictures from a ski trip.
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Tesla on Autopilot Collided with Parked Fire Truck on California Freeway AIID ↗
A Tesla Model S operating on Autopilot mode crashed into the back of a parked fire truck on a freeway in Culver City, California in a non-fatal collision.
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Customer Service Robot Scares Away Customers AIID ↗
Heriot-Watt Univeristy in Scotland developed an artificially intelligent grocery store robot, Fabio, who provided unhelpful answers to customer's questions and "scared away" multiple customers, according to the grocery store Margiotta.
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Waze App Allegedly Caused Tourists’ Car to End up in Lake Champlain, Vermont AIID ↗
The tourists driving through Vermont blamed Waze for directing them into a boat launch in Lake Champlain, prompting the vehicle to slide into the water by the time the drivers realized their location in the dark and foggy weather.
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Bad AI-Written Christmas Carols AIID ↗
Janelle Shane, an AI research scientist, used 240 popular Christmas carols to train a neural network to write its own carols. This incident has been downgraded to an issue as it does not meet current ingestion criteria.
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Waze Navigates Motorists into Wildfires AIID ↗
Waze, a Google-owned directions app, led California drivers into the 2017 Skirball wildfires as they tried to evacuate the area.
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Driverless Train in Delhi Crashes due to Braking Failure AIID ↗
A driverless metro train in Delhi, India crashed during a test run due to faulty brakes.
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Amazon Alexa Plays Loud Music when Owner is Away AIID ↗
An Amazon Alexa, without instruction to do so, began playing loud music in the early morning while the homeowner was away leading to police breaking into their house to turn off the device.
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Las Vegas Self-Driving Bus Involved in Accident AIID ↗
A self-driving public shuttle by Keolis North America and Navya was involved in a collision with a human-driven delivery truck in Las Vegas, Nevada on its first day of service.
Informational only, not legal advice. Verify every claim against the linked official sources and consult qualified counsel before acting.