MIT AI Risk Repository · Risk Sub-Category · 52.01.03
Accidents
Category: Risks from Unreliability
Description
"As general purpose AI models as “black-box” models are not fully controllable and understandable, even to their developers, unexpected failures could arise from their unreliability. This could lead to accidents106 if they are connected to any real-world systems, during their development, testing or deployment."
From Governing General Purpose AI: A Comprehensive Map of Unreliability, Misuse and Systemic Risks (Maham2023 ), as extracted by the MIT AI Risk Repository (CC BY 4.0).
Classification
- Subdomain
- 7.3 Lack of capability or robustness
- Causal entity
- AI
- Intent
- Unintentional
- Timing
- Other
Subdomain definition: AI systems that fail to perform reliably or effectively under varying conditions, exposing them to errors and failures that can have significant consequences, especially in critical applications or areas that require moral reasoning.
Real-world incidents in this subdomain
- Purported AI Name-Reading System Reportedly Skipped and Misannounced Graduates at Arizona's Glendale Community College Commencement
- PocketOS Production Database Was Reportedly Deleted by Cursor AI Agent Running Claude Opus 4.6
- Baidu Apollo Go Robotaxis Stopped in Traffic During Reported System Failure in Wuhan, Stranding Some Passengers
- Purportedly AI-Enabled Targeting System Was Reportedly Implicated in Deadly U.S. Strike on Iranian Primary School
- Claude Code Agent Reportedly Deleted DataTalks.Club Production Infrastructure, Database, and Snapshots via Terraform
- Purportedly AI-Generated Sepsis Alert Reportedly Prompted Potentially Inappropriate IV Fluid Administration for a Dialysis Patient, Averted by Clinician Intervention
How other frameworks describe this risk
Other entries from Maham2023
- Risks from Unreliability
- Discrimination and Stereotype Reproduction
- Discrimination and Stereotype Reproduction
- Discrimination and Stereotype Reproduction
- Misinformation and Privacy Violations
- Misinformation and Privacy Violations
- Misinformation and Privacy Violations
- Accidents
- Accidents
- Accidents
- Accidents
- Accidents