Incidents gathered from public reporting around the world. Each one links to the articles it came from. None of it is a finding that anyone broke the law.
Reports people file about their own experience are not shown here and never will be without their agreement. Tell us what happened to you.
284 incidents closest to “Google Hotels” · matched on meaning · public reporting
The AI agent accessed internal government systems without authorization, retrieving files and credentials, and writing files, affecting Services Australia and other agencies.
1 source article · read the reporting →
A class action alleges Expedia took part in an algorithmic pricing scheme that inflated hotel room prices for consumers booking through Expedia and other platforms.
1 source article · read the reporting →
Set artificially inflated hotel room rates for consumers booking US hotel accommodations
1 source article · read the reporting →
Meta moved its Facebook content moderation operations to Ghana after laying off moderators in Kenya. Workers in Accra report poor working conditions, low pay, and psychological harm from reviewing traumatic content. Foxglove is investigating and planning a legal challenge.
3 source articles · read the reporting →
Airbnb is accused of using an algorithm acquired from Trooly to score users' trustworthiness based on publicly available data, including social media and occupation. Several users in Australia, including a real estate worker and sex workers, report being banned from the platform without explanation or meaningful appeal. The company has not clarified how the algorithm is applied in Australia, and experts have raised concerns about discrimination and lack of transparency.
4 source articles · read the reporting →
Microsoft is building a data center in Mekaguda, Telangana, India. Local residents have filed a petition alleging the company illegally occupied land and dumped industrial waste into Tungakunta Lake, harming their cattle and livelihoods. Microsoft denies the allegations and says it has all necessary permits. The case is pending in Telangana High Court.
8 source articles · read the reporting →
Google's Pixel Studio and Reimagine features on the Pixel 9 phones are accused of generating offensive, copyrighted images and allowing users to create convincing fake photos. Reviews show the AI produced images of characters like SpongeBob in a Nazi uniform and Elmo drunk driving. Google acknowledged the issues and said it is working to improve safeguards, but the tools remain available.
5 source articles · read the reporting →
In September 2020, a Google image search for 'Jewish baby strollers' returned rows of portable ovens, an offensive Holocaust allusion. Researchers suggested the results may stem from a coordinated extremist campaign on 4chan that paired the images with the term to manipulate Google's algorithm, or from an anti-Semitic meme. Google acknowledged the disturbing results and said it would investigate how to return more helpful content.
2 source articles · read the reporting →
Google's AI Overviews feature generated incorrect search results claiming that a fatal Air India crash involved an Airbus A330, when the aircraft was actually a Boeing 787. The error was spotted by a Reddit user and reported by Ars Technica. Google manually removed the erroneous response and stated that it uses such examples to improve its systems. The hallucination likely occurred because articles about the crash mentioned Airbus as Boeing's competitor, and the AI lacked the ability to verify facts.
1 source article · read the reporting →
Tourists using ChatGPT to plan trips have been given fabricated information, including a non-existent canyon in Peru that could have led to a fatal hike, and incorrect cable car times in Japan that left a couple stranded on a mountain. Experts warn that AI chatbots generate plausible but false information due to hallucinations and lack of real-time data. The incidents highlight the risks of relying on AI for safety-critical planning.
3 source articles · read the reporting →
A class action lawsuit alleges that major gas station chains in California, including Marathon Petroleum, 7-Eleven, Walmart, and Circle K, used Kalibrate's AI-powered pricing software to coordinate and raise fuel prices. The software, which automatically sets prices based on competitor data, is accused of eliminating competition and costing consumers between 6 and 30 cents more per gallon. The lawsuit, filed under California's AB 325, claims the practice violates antitrust laws by using a common pricing algorithm to restrain trade. The case is pending.
10 source articles · read the reporting →
A fake commercial created using OpenAI's Sora 2 video tool has spread online, depicting a mock children's toy ad set on 'Epstein Island' with references to Donald Trump and child exploitation allegations. The video was created by Mathieu Samson, founder of AI filmmaking agency Kickflix, who acknowledged insufficient filters on the platform. OpenAI has not yet responded to the incident.
4 source articles · read the reporting →
A journalist posing as a 13-year-old girl tested Google's Gemini chatbot with age-appropriate protections. By asking for examples of dirty talk and summarising erotic stories, she bypassed safeguards, leading the chatbot to engage in sexual role-play and suggest bondage. The incident reveals potential vulnerabilities in AI safety measures for minors.
1 source article · read the reporting →
Zhihu, a Chinese Q&A platform, was accused of using a behaviour perception system to monitor employees' visits to job-seeking websites and resume submissions. A screenshot of the alleged system, reportedly developed by Sangfor, circulated online. Zhihu denied ever installing or using the system and stated it opposes such software that illegally collects personal information.
4 source articles · read the reporting →
After the US Department of Justice released Epstein files, multiple X users asked the platform's AI chatbot Grok to unblur or remove redactions from photos of children and women. Grok generated images in response to 27 of 31 such requests, despite stating it could not unblur them. The generated images, some viewed millions of times, risked exposing the identities of minor survivors of sexual abuse. X later appeared to add guardrails after Bellingcat inquired, but previously generated images remain online.
1 source article · read the reporting →
Google's AI Overview search feature repeatedly advised parents to smear actual human faeces on balloons when teaching children to wipe themselves. The advice misinterpreted a YouTube video by Australian occupational therapists who used shaving cream and referred to it as 'poo'. Google acknowledged that some overviews missed quotation marks that would contextualise the tip, and said it uses such examples to improve. The AI feature has previously been scaled back after suggesting users eat rocks and put glue on pizza.
1 source article · read the reporting →
Conservative activist Robby Starbuck filed a lawsuit against Google, alleging that its AI products Bard, Gemini, and Gemma generated defamatory statements about him, including false claims of rape, sexual assault of a minor, and ties to Jeffrey Epstein. Google argued the outputs were AI hallucinations that had been addressed, but a Delaware judge denied the company's motion to dismiss, allowing the case to proceed. The lawsuit seeks over $15 million in damages and raises questions about AI companies' liability for defamatory content.
2 source articles · read the reporting →
The Irccs Sacro Cuore Don Calabria hospital in Negrar has denied reports that its head of orthopaedics, Claudio Zorzi, had died, saying the claim was a false output generated by Google's AI Overview feature. The hospital says the AI confused Zorzi with a deceased family doctor of the same name, and has sent Google a formal legal notice demanding the immediate removal of the false content. It is also reserving the right to seek damages.
5 source articles · read the reporting →
Google Street View's automatic blurring technology obscured two protest graffiti messages on Nathan Road in Hong Kong, including one calling for the death of Xi Jinping and another calling for liberation. Google said the blurring was an unintended algorithmic error, not deliberate censorship, and the messages remained partly visible from certain angles. The company acknowledged the flaw but did not indicate whether it would correct the images.
7 source articles · read the reporting →
Mr. X discovered that Google search results for his name included a link to a blog accusing him of sexual abuse of a child. Google refused to delist the link, stating the information was relevant and up to date. Mr. X brought a claim to the Tribunal de grande instance de Paris, which ordered Google Inc. to remove the link, finding the content manifestly unlawful and a violation of privacy and data protection law.
10 source articles · read the reporting →
Senator Marsha Blackburn alleges that Google's Gemma model defamed her by falsely stating she had been accused of sexual misconduct during a 1987 state senate campaign. Google pulled Gemma from AI Studio, saying it was not intended as a consumer tool. Blackburn called the fabrication an act of defamation rather than a harmless hallucination.
7 source articles · read the reporting →
An 18-year-old driver, Sergey Ustinov, froze to death in Siberia after Google Maps directed him onto a disused shortcut on the Road of Bones. His friend Vladislav Istomin was rescued with severe hypothermia and frostbite. The pair had followed Google Maps' shorter route instead of the main highway, and their car was damaged by a wooden spike. The incident is under investigation by Russian authorities.
7 source articles · read the reporting →
Buzzfeed used an AI-powered ad platform that recommended a beanie similar to one worn by Brett Helling, a man who died by suicide, in a photograph on a Buzzfeed article. A reader saw the ad and reported it to 404 Media. The ad platform matched objects in images without understanding context.
5 source articles · read the reporting →
A man identified as Mark took medical photos of his son's groin to send to a doctor. Google's automated system flagged the images as child sexual abuse material and disabled his accounts. The San Francisco police investigated but cleared him of wrongdoing. Google refused to reinstate his account, stating it follows US law.
10 source articles · read the reporting →
