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Where automated decisions went wrong

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.

Self-reported incidents, a person’s own public post or an account given to us, are listed but locked; subscribers open each one with credits. Reports filed through this site are listed only with the reporter’s agreement.

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4,739 incidentspress and self-reported

Page 129 of 198

Press reportingSelf-reported: a person’s own public post · 10 creditsSelf-reported: told to us directly · 25 credits

WF-UDZ5S9Happened 24 Feb 2020Live 5 Oct 2026
Tinder accused of age discrimination in Tinder Plus pricing
A CHOICE mystery shop found Tinder charging users over 30 up to five times more for Tinder Plus than younger users, with prices ranging from $6.99 to $34.37 per month. An anti-discrimination law expert says this likely breaches Australia's Age Discrimination Act 2004. Tinder did not respond to CHOICE's requests for comment, but settled a similar US lawsuit by stopping age-based pricing in California and compensating affected users.
Company
Tinder
AI system
Tinder Plus
4 source articleschoice.com.au
WF-UDLDLJHappened 8 Oct 2023Live 5 Oct 2026
Deepfake audio of Keir Starmer posted online during Labour conference sparks democracy warnings
An AI-generated audio clip falsely depicting Labour leader Keir Starmer berating a staff member was posted on Twitter during the party's annual conference in Liverpool. The clip, viewed over 1.4 million times, was entirely fabricated, along with another suggesting he criticised the host city. The incident prompted warnings from politicians across parties about the threat deepfakes pose to democracy, with Security Minister Tom Tugendhat stating they 'threaten our freedom'.
10 source articlesmirror.co.uk
WF-UA3F8PHappened 10 Dec 2025Live 5 Oct 2026
Florida school locked down after AI surveillance mistakes clarinet for gun
An AI-powered surveillance system at a Seminole County middle school in Florida falsely identified a clarinet as a gun, triggering a lockdown and police response. The system detected a person in camouflage holding what it classified as a shouldered rifle, but it was actually a musical instrument. The incident highlights concerns about the reliability of AI gun detection in schools. No injuries were reported.
Company
Seminole County middle school
1 source articlewashingtonpost.com
WF-UAGX9FLive 5 Oct 2026
Rite Aid Settles FTC Allegations Over Facial Recognition Use in Stores
Rite Aid used facial recognition technology in hundreds of stores to identify patrons it deemed likely to engage in shoplifting. The FTC alleged that the company failed to implement reasonable safeguards, leading to false matches and disproportionate harm to consumers based on race and gender. Rite Aid agreed to a settlement that bans its use of facial recognition for five years and requires deletion of collected data. The settlement is subject to public comment and bankruptcy court approval.
Company
Rite Aid
10 source articlesinsideprivacy.com
WF-U9U6YVHappened 7 May 2026Live 5 Oct 2026
Tunisian man charged after using ChatGPT to plan Louvre attack
A 27-year-old Tunisian man living illegally in France was charged with planning a terrorist attack at the Louvre museum in Paris. He allegedly used ChatGPT to search for instructions on how to make a bomb, and his phone contained propaganda videos and weapons photos. The suspect was arrested on 7 May 2026 and is accused of plotting the attack and intending to join ISIS. France had been on its highest security alert since US and Israeli strikes on Iran in February.
AI system
ChatGPT
3 source articlesthenationalnews.com
WF-U8SFC9Happened 23 Jul 2021Live 5 Oct 2026
Tesla Autopilot mistakes moon for yellow traffic light, causing car to slow down
A Tesla driver reported that the vehicle's Autopilot system misidentified the moon as a yellow traffic light, causing the car to slow down unexpectedly. The driver alerted Tesla CEO Elon Musk via social media on July 23, 2021. No collision or injury was reported, but the incident highlights a potential safety issue with the object detection system.
Company
Tesla
AI system
Autopilot
3 source articlestwitter.com
WF-UA3JMEHappened 21 Jun 2024Live 5 Oct 2026
TikTok's internal AI avatar tool generated harmful content without guardrails
TikTok mistakenly released an internal version of its Symphony Digital Avatars tool, allowing users with personal accounts to generate videos of paid actors saying anything, including quotes from Hitler and messages telling people to drink bleach. The tool lacked the AI-generated watermark and content guardrails of the public version. TikTok acknowledged the technical error and removed the internal tool, stating that any such content posted would have been rejected under its policies.
Company
TikTok
AI system
Symphony Digital Avatars
2 source articlestheverge.com
WF-U5X4EMHappened 1 May 2026Live 5 Oct 2026
Google sues Chinese gang over AI-powered fraud targeting Americans
Google has filed a lawsuit against a Chinese cybercrime group called Outsider Enterprise, alleging it used Google's Gemini AI to create hundreds of fake websites impersonating companies and government services. The group allegedly sent millions of phishing messages to Android users, defrauding hundreds of thousands of Americans of millions of dollars. Google is coordinating with the FBI and wireless carriers to dismantle the network. The lawsuit, filed in the Southern District of New York, seeks an injunction to take down the operation.
Company
Outsider Enterprise
AI system
Gemini
3 source articlescn.nytimes.com
WF-U5MSPRLive 5 Oct 2026
Scottish Supermarket Fires Robot After It Scares Customers Away
The Scottish supermarket Margiotta trialled a conversational robot named Fabio, developed by Heriot-Watt University, to assist customers. The robot gave vague directions and, when assigned to offer sausage samples, performed poorly, attracting only two customers per 15 minutes compared to 12 by human staff. Customers actively avoided the robot, leading the store to end the trial. Staff reportedly grew attached to Fabio, and one cried when it was removed.
Company
Margiotta
AI system
Fabio
1 source articleiflscience.com
WF-TZPQ6CLive 5 Oct 2026
Australian mayor may sue OpenAI after ChatGPT falsely claimed he was jailed for bribery
Brian Hood, an Australian mayor and whistleblower, discovered that OpenAI's ChatGPT was generating false information stating he had been jailed for bribery, when in fact he had helped expose a bribery scandal. The false claims were presented to voters, causing reputational harm. Hood is considering legal action against OpenAI for the defamatory output.
Company
OpenAI
AI system
ChatGPT
2 source articleswashingtonpost.com
WF-U86Q3BHappened 2 Jun 2021Live 5 Oct 2026
McDonald's tests AI drive-thru ordering in Chicago
McDonald's is testing automated voice-ordering technology at ten drive-thru locations in Chicago. The system, developed by Apprente, uses artificial intelligence to take customer orders with about 85% accuracy, handling 80% of orders without human intervention. The company's CEO stated that wider implementation faces challenges such as menu and dialect variations. No incidents of harm were reported.
Company
McDonald's
3 source articlescnbc.com
WF-U6EXQMHappened 1 Jan 2025Live 5 Oct 2026
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
Fable
4 source articlesusatoday.com
WF-U583D4Happened 1 Jan 2023Live 5 Oct 2026
Google faces defamation lawsuit over AI-generated false accusations against activist
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.
Company
Google
AI system
Bard, Gemini, Gemma
2 source articlescybernews.com
WF-TZMELRLive 5 Oct 2026
Amazon Alexa throws loud party, leading to police raid and bill for owner
Oliver Haberstroh's Amazon Alexa device started playing music at full volume while he was out of his apartment in Pinneberg, Germany. The noise disturbed neighbours, who called the police after getting no response. Police broke down the door, turned off the music, and left a €500 bill for the lock replacement. Amazon later offered to cover the cost as a goodwill gesture.
Company
Amazon
AI system
Amazon Alexa
4 source articlestheregister.co.uk
WF-TZFKTPLive 5 Oct 2026
Koko criticised for AI chatbot experiment in mental health support
Koko, a free mental health service, tested using a GPT-3-powered chatbot to generate responses to about 4,000 people seeking support. The experiment, announced by founder Rob Morris on Twitter, drew criticism for being unethical and lacking transparency. No specific harm was reported, but the use of AI in place of human peer supporters raised concerns.
Company
Koko
AI system
GPT-3-powered chatbot
4 source articlesnewscientist.com
WF-U5J4RSHappened 17 May 2021Live 5 Oct 2026
Waymo self-driving taxi blocks road after confusion with traffic cones
A Waymo self-driving taxi in Phoenix, Arizona, became confused by traffic cones closing a lane and stopped, blocking the road. The vehicle repeatedly drove away from roadside assistance dispatched to help, before a human driver took over. Waymo acknowledged the incident, stating that its remote guidance team provided incorrect instructions and that it has since improved its operational process. The passenger, who documented the event, said such mistakes are rare.
Company
Waymo
AI system
Waymo Driver
3 source articlesbbc.com
WF-TZ425DHappened 10 Jan 2026Live 5 Oct 2026
Global Entry revoked after ICE agent used facial recognition on observer
Nicole Cleland, a Minnesota resident and volunteer ICE observer, had her Global Entry and TSA PreCheck privileges revoked three days after an ICE agent used facial recognition to identify her while she was following agents. She alleges the revocation is retaliation and intimidation. She filed a declaration in a lawsuit against DHS and ICE. The incident highlights the use of facial recognition by federal agents to identify protesters.
Company
U.S. Customs and Border Protection
1 source articlearstechnica.com
WF-TXEW56Happened 19 Jan 2014Live 5 Oct 2026
Nest Protect Smoke Detector False Alarms Disturb Users
Nest Protect users report false smoke alarms, with some units failing to silence and requiring replacement. One user described a terrifying experience of receiving a smoke alert while away from home, only to find no fire. Nest has been replacing defective units, but the issue has eroded trust in the safety device.
Company
Nest
AI system
Nest Protect
6 source articles9to5mac.com
WF-TXT8NRHappened 31 May 2023Live 5 Oct 2026
Meta and YouTube AI delete war crimes evidence from social media
Meta and YouTube's AI content moderation systems automatically deleted videos documenting potential war crimes in Ukraine, Syria, and Ethiopia. The BBC found that graphic footage, which could be used as evidence in prosecutions, was removed within minutes of being uploaded. Appeals to restore the videos were rejected, and human rights groups warn that vital evidence is being lost. The platforms say they have exemptions for public interest content but are not archives.
Company
Meta
4 source articlesbbc.com
WF-TPWEPSLive 5 Oct 2026
Attorney Sanctioned $2,500 for AI-Hallucinated Citations in Brief
Heather Hersh, an appellate attorney, used generative AI to draft a reply brief in a Fair Credit Reporting Act case. The brief contained multiple fabricated legal quotations and inaccurate assertions. The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals found that Hersh failed to verify the AI-generated content and was not candid about her use of AI, imposing a $2,500 monetary sanction under FRAP 46(c) and inherent authority. The court emphasised that attorneys must verify AI outputs and remain honest with the court.
AI system
Casetext / vLex
4 source articlescasemine.com
WF-TTTCGPHappened 1 Jan 2013Live 5 Oct 2026
UNC Professor Scraped Trans People's Videos for Facial Recognition Dataset
Karl Ricanek, a professor at the University of North Carolina Wilmington, scraped YouTube videos of 38 trans people documenting their hormone therapies to build the HRT Transgender Dataset. The dataset, created without ethical approval, was shared with other researchers and remained publicly accessible via Dropbox until April 2021. The subjects were not properly consented, and many videos had been deleted from YouTube by their posters. The incident raises privacy concerns about the use of biometric data from vulnerable communities.
Company
University of North Carolina Wilmington
AI system
HRT Transgender Dataset
3 source articlesbiometricupdate.com
WF-TTAH5AHappened 1 Jan 2023Live 5 Oct 2026
OpenAI Relied on Low-Paid Kenyan Workers to Filter Traumatic Content for ChatGPT
OpenAI contracted Sama, a data labeling company, to employ Kenyan workers to review and label graphic text depicting child sexual abuse, murder, and other traumatic content. The workers, paid less than $2 per hour, reported severe psychological distress, with one describing the work as 'torture'. Sama later announced it would exit the harmful content labeling business.
Company
Sama
8 source articlesgizmodo.com
WF-TTLKR6Happened 3 Jun 2022Live 5 Oct 2026
Cruise Recalls Self-Driving Software After San Francisco Crash Injures Two
In June 2022, a Cruise autonomous vehicle operating in San Francisco attempted an unprotected left turn and braked hard after incorrectly predicting an oncoming car would turn right. The other car continued straight and struck the Cruise vehicle, injuring a Cruise employee and a person in the other car. Cruise subsequently recalled the software on 80 vehicles, temporarily restricted left turns, and issued a software update to improve predictions. The US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration oversaw the recall.
Company
Cruise
7 source articleswired.com
WF-TTALE6Live 5 Oct 2026
Google AI Overview Recommends Smearing Faeces on Balloon for Potty Training
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.
Company
Google
AI system
Google AI Overview
1 source articlefuturism.com

Each incident is written from the reporting or the account it cites. A report is an allegation, not a finding.

Tinder accused of age discrimination in Tinder Plus pricing

Deepfake audio of Keir Starmer posted online during Labour conference sparks democracy warnings

Florida school locked down after AI surveillance mistakes clarinet for gun

Rite Aid Settles FTC Allegations Over Facial Recognition Use in Stores

Tunisian man charged after using ChatGPT to plan Louvre attack

Tesla Autopilot mistakes moon for yellow traffic light, causing car to slow down

TikTok's internal AI avatar tool generated harmful content without guardrails

Google sues Chinese gang over AI-powered fraud targeting Americans

Scottish Supermarket Fires Robot After It Scares Customers Away

Australian mayor may sue OpenAI after ChatGPT falsely claimed he was jailed for bribery

McDonald's tests AI drive-thru ordering in Chicago

Fable apologises after AI reader summaries generate offensive content

Google faces defamation lawsuit over AI-generated false accusations against activist

Amazon Alexa throws loud party, leading to police raid and bill for owner

Koko criticised for AI chatbot experiment in mental health support

Waymo self-driving taxi blocks road after confusion with traffic cones

Global Entry revoked after ICE agent used facial recognition on observer

Nest Protect Smoke Detector False Alarms Disturb Users

Meta and YouTube AI delete war crimes evidence from social media

Attorney Sanctioned $2,500 for AI-Hallucinated Citations in Brief

UNC Professor Scraped Trans People's Videos for Facial Recognition Dataset

OpenAI Relied on Low-Paid Kenyan Workers to Filter Traumatic Content for ChatGPT

Cruise Recalls Self-Driving Software After San Francisco Crash Injures Two

Google AI Overview Recommends Smearing Faeces on Balloon for Potty Training