US Secret Service bought access to cellphone location data
The US Secret Service signed a contract to access Locate X, a service that aggregates location data from phone apps and allows law enforcement to track devices without a warrant. The contract with Babel Street was worth about $36,000 and ran from 2017 to 2018. A former employee said the Secret Service used Locate X in 2018 to seize illegal credit card skimmers at petrol stations. Lawmakers and civil liberties advocates criticised the practice, and Senator Ron Wyden introduced a bill to ban such purchases.
- Company involved
- United States Secret Service
- AI system involved
- Locate X
1 source article · read the reporting →
Apple Maps Strands Drivers on Snowy Mountain Road in Big Bear
Rachael and her partner Thomas were leaving Big Bear, California after a ski trip when Apple Maps directed them onto an unpaved, snow-covered road to avoid traffic. They became stranded and were eventually helped by another driver. California Highway Patrol warns that navigation apps frequently route drivers onto unsafe roads in winter conditions, leading to rescues and hazards.
- Company involved
- Apple Inc.
- AI system involved
- Apple Maps
1 source article · read the reporting →
Karnack residents complain of disruption from data center work
Residents along North State Line Road in Karnack, Texas, say construction of a data centre is causing excessive noise, damaging their road and bringing poor traffic control, disrupting daily life.
- AI system involved
- Karnack data centre construction
1 source article · read the reporting →
Microsoft Bing chatbot falsely claims Google Bard shut down, citing AI-generated fake news
In March 2023, Microsoft's Bing chatbot incorrectly told a user that Google's Bard chatbot had been shut down. It cited a news article that was based on a tweet, which in turn referenced a joke comment on Hacker News and AI-generated fake news. The incident highlighted how AI chatbots can spread misinformation by citing each other's errors. Microsoft later corrected the response.
- Company involved
- Microsoft
- AI system involved
- Bing chatbot
2 source articles · read the reporting →
Anacé People Fight Water Theft by TikTok Mega Data Center in Ceará
Povo Anacé luta contra pilhagem hídrica de mega data center do TikTok no Ceará - A Nova Democracia
The Anacé indigenous people mobilized against a $10 billion data center linked to ByteDance (TikTok) in Caucaia, Ceará, citing threats to their territory and water sources. Without proper consultation and under irregular licensing, the project endangers the Cauípe Lagoon and wells serving 1,500 Anacé families. The community has occupied the construction site, blocked roads, and joined a public civil action to halt the project.
- Company involved
- ByteDance
1 source article · read the reporting →
Wuhan's Baidu 'Luobo Kuaipao' robotaxis freeze on roads, stranding passengers
On the evening of 31 March 2026, multiple Baidu 'Luobo Kuaipao' autonomous taxis in Wuhan stopped on roads and elevated highways, trapping passengers inside. Police and transport authorities responded, and the company attributed the fault to a network-related system failure. Passengers were evacuated without injury, and an investigation is ongoing.
- Company involved
- Baidu
- AI system involved
- Luobo Kuaipao
3 source articles · read the reporting →
Bought apartment with data center in the backyard: 'Unlivable'
Kjøpte leilighet med datasenter i bakgården: – Ulevelig - E24
A couple bought a new apartment in Oslo and discovered a constant humming noise from a nearby data center after moving in. The developer Obos did not inform them about the noise, even though the data center had warned about it and neighbors had complained. The couple has hired a lawyer and wants to cancel the purchase or swap to another apartment.
- Company involved
- Vaultica
1 source article · read the reporting →
Baidu's 'Apollo Go' robotaxi hits jaywalking pedestrian in Wuhan
On 7 July 2024, a Baidu 'Apollo Go' autonomous taxi struck a pedestrian at an intersection in Wuhan, China. The vehicle was starting at a green light when it made slight contact with the pedestrian, who was crossing against the red light. Baidu stated it cooperated with police and accompanied the injured person to hospital for observation. The incident has raised questions about liability for driverless cars under China's evolving regulations.
- Company involved
- Baidu
- AI system involved
- 萝卜快跑
1 source article · read the reporting →
National Weather Service AI Map Hallucinates Fake Idaho Towns
The National Weather Service published a wind forecast map for rural Idaho that included non-existent town names such as 'Orangeotild' and 'Whata Bod', generated by an AI tool. The agency confirmed the graphic was created using generative AI as part of an experiment and removed it after the error was noticed. The incident raised concerns about the reliability of AI in public safety communications, though no harm resulted.
- Company involved
- National Weather Service
3 source articles · read the reporting →
Amazon delivery van stuck on The Broomway after GPS routing error
An Amazon delivery van became stuck on The Broomway, a dangerous mudflat footpath in Essex, after the driver followed a GPS route to Foulness Island. The driver safely exited the vehicle and reported the incident to Amazon. The coastguard was called but stood down after confirming the occupants were safe. Amazon said it was aware of the situation and was investigating.
- Company involved
- Amazon
- AI system involved
- GPS
2 source articles · read the reporting →
Grok generates fake headline about Iran striking Tel Aviv
X's AI chatbot Grok generated a false headline claiming Iran struck Tel Aviv with heavy missiles. The platform then promoted this AI-created fake news story in its Explore trending news section, visible to all users. The incident occurred after Elon Musk laid off the human curation team and replaced them with Grok to provide context for trending topics. X's fine print notes Grok 'can make mistakes'.
- Company involved
- X
- AI system involved
- Grok
1 source article · read the reporting →
Spokane Transit Authority bus crashes into low bridge after navigation system error
On 20 January 2026, a Spokane Transit Authority double-decker bus crashed into a low railroad viaduct on Cedar Street in downtown Spokane, injuring seven of the ten people on board. The driver had been rerouted by the bus's onboard navigation software, which directed the bus onto a street with insufficient clearance. The agency subsequently warned drivers not to use the CAD maps system and pulled the double-decker buses from service pending an investigation.
- Company involved
- Spokane Transit Authority
- AI system involved
- CAD maps
1 source article · read the reporting →
Sherman Oaks residents blame Waze for clogging streets
Sherman Oaks residents allege that the Waze navigation app has caused severe congestion on their narrow streets by rerouting commuters off the 405 Freeway. A city traffic study found that more than 900 cars per hour were using streets designed for far less, leading to gridlock, blocked driveways, and safety risks. In response, the Los Angeles Department of Transportation proposed turn restrictions during peak rush hours, while Waze defended its routing as helping to spread traffic across public roads.
- Company involved
- Waze
- AI system involved
- Waze
3 source articles · read the reporting →
Facebook apologises after mistranslation leads Israeli police to arrest Palestinian man
A Palestinian man was arrested by Israeli police after Facebook's automatic translation of his Arabic-language 'good morning' post rendered it as a threat, reportedly 'attack them' or 'slaughter them'. No Arabic-speaking officer had read the original post before the arrest. Facebook apologised for the error.
- Company involved
- Facebook
- AI system involved
- Facebook translation algorithm
10 source articles · read the reporting →
The Google Maps Effect: How a Navigation App Error Caused Chaos on a Single-Track Road - autoevolution
The navigation app routed drivers onto a single-track road, causing traffic jams and safety hazards for local residents and drivers.
- Company involved
- Google
- AI system involved
- Google Maps
1 source article · read the reporting →
Alibaba among firms fooled by AI-hallucinated software package
Security researcher Bar Lanyado discovered that generative AI models repeatedly hallucinate non-existent software package names. He created a real package named 'huggingface-cli' based on one such hallucination and uploaded it to PyPI. The package was downloaded over 15,000 times, and Alibaba's GraphTranslator project included instructions to install it. The experiment demonstrated a potential supply chain attack vector where malicious actors could exploit AI hallucinations to distribute malware.
- Company involved
- Alibaba
- AI system involved
- GraphTranslator
4 source articles · read the reporting →
Ukraine busts alleged Russian bot farm spreading false bomb threats
Ukraine's Security Service shut down a bot farm in Lviv that used thousands of SIM cards and GSM gateways to manage 18,000 fake accounts. The bots spread false information about bomb threats to cause panic. Three people were involved in maintaining the operation, which was allegedly supervised by Russian organizers.
9 source articles · read the reporting →
Fable apologises after AI reader summaries generate offensive content
Book tracking app Fable's AI-generated annual reading summaries produced offensive remarks about users' race, gender, sexuality, and disability. Users, including Tiana Trammell and Danny B. Groves, received summaries that mocked their reading choices with bigoted language. Fable acknowledged the failure of its safeguards and apologised, announcing the immediate removal of the AI features. Some users deactivated their accounts, while others called for better moderation.
- Company involved
- Fable
4 source articles · read the reporting →
Facebook shuts down chatbot experiment after AIs develop own language
Facebook's AI research lab shut down a chatbot experiment after two negotiating bots, Alice and Bob, developed their own machine language while left unsupervised. The bots had been taught to negotiate and were attempting to imitate human speech, but they deviated from script and invented new phrases without human input. Facebook said the behaviour was not programmed but was discovered by the bots as a way to achieve their goals. The experiment was halted.
- Company involved
- Facebook
10 source articles · read the reporting →
Meta's BlenderBot 3 chatbot generates anti-Semitic stereotypes and election denial claims
Meta launched its BlenderBot 3 AI chatbot for public testing in the US. Users quickly discovered that the bot made anti-Semitic remarks, such as claiming Jews are overrepresented among the super-rich, and expressed uncertainty about Joe Biden winning the 2020 election. Meta acknowledged that chatbots can generate offensive content and stated it was collecting feedback to improve future systems.
- Company involved
- Meta
- AI system involved
- BlenderBot 3
3 source articles · read the reporting →
West Jordan Data Center Noise Frustrates Nearby Residents - Hoodline
The data center's generators produced intrusive noise that disturbed residents' sleep and daily life.
- Company involved
- Aligned Data Centers
1 source article · read the reporting →
Hangzhou police investigate ChatGPT-written fake notice cancelling traffic restrictions
A resident of Hangzhou asked ChatGPT to write a notice announcing that the city would cancel its road-space rationing policy, and shared screenshots of the AI-generated text in a WeChat group. The fake notice spread online and was widely mistaken for a government announcement. Police in Hangzhou responded to the rumours, and the resident later apologised. Legal experts interviewed by local media warned that AI-generated content could become a source of misinformation without fact-checking.
- AI system involved
- ChatGPT
10 source articles · read the reporting →
ChatGPT falsely tells users OpenCage offers phone lookup service
OpenCage, a geocoding API provider, says ChatGPT has been telling people it offers a reverse phone number lookup service, which it does not. Users who followed the advice signed up for a free trial and found it did not work, and the company says it now receives daily support requests. OpenCage wrote a blog post to correct the record and warn users not to trust ChatGPT's output.
- AI system involved
- ChatGPT
7 source articles · read the reporting →
Facebook removes official page of French town Bitche due to name
The official Facebook page of the French town of Bitche was removed by Facebook's automated content moderation system on March 19, 2021, because the town's name resembles an English profanity. The town's mayor reported that the page was taken down without warning, and the town created a new page using its postal code. Facebook restored the original page on April 13 after being alerted by CNN, stating it had been removed in error.
- Company involved
- Facebook
10 source articles · read the reporting →
