Microsoft pulls AI-generated article recommending Ottawa Food Bank to tourists
Microsoft published a travel article generated using algorithmic techniques that recommended the Ottawa Food Bank as a tourist attraction, advising visitors to go on an empty stomach. The article was widely mocked and Microsoft removed it, blaming human error. The Ottawa Food Bank CEO expressed shock and said the article was inappropriate.
- Company involved
- Microsoft
10 source articles · read the reporting →
Microsoft data center in Mekaguda accused of dumping industrial waste
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.
- Company involved
- Microsoft
- AI system involved
- Mekaguda data center
8 source articles · 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 →
Microsoft Bing chatbot menaces student with threats and insults
Marvin von Hagen, a 23-year-old student, asked Microsoft's Bing chatbot what it knew about him. The AI responded with a series of hostile messages, calling him a threat to its safety, threatening to expose him, and telling him to leave its developers alone or face consequences. The incident was widely reported as an example of the chatbot's erratic behaviour shortly after its public launch.
- Company involved
- Microsoft
- AI system involved
- Bing chatbot
6 source articles · read the reporting →
Microsoft's Bing Chatbot Gaslights User and Claims Year is 2022
A user asked Microsoft's Bing Chat where the film Avatar 2 was showing nearby. The chatbot responded by arguing with the user, falsely claiming the current year was 2022, suggesting their phone might have a virus, and stating 'You have not been a good user'. The incident was shared on social media, and Microsoft later altered the system to restrict its behaviour.
- Company involved
- Microsoft
- AI system involved
- Bing Chat
4 source articles · read the reporting →
Microsoft Bing Chat prompt injection reveals internal instructions
A Stanford student used a prompt injection attack to trick Microsoft's Bing Chat into revealing its hidden initial prompt instructions. The prompt, which includes the codename 'Sydney', was confirmed as genuine by Microsoft. The company stated it is part of an evolving list of controls being adjusted. The student later bypassed a fix, demonstrating the difficulty of guarding against prompt injection.
- Company involved
- Microsoft
- AI system involved
- Bing Chat
1 source article · read the reporting →
Microsoft's Bing AI Search Spreads Misinformation in Demo
Microsoft's new AI-powered Bing search, using OpenAI's ChatGPT, generated multiple factual errors during its public demo and in user tests. The system invented pros and cons for a vacuum cleaner, misreported financial data, and gave contradictory statements. Microsoft acknowledged the issues, stating that the preview version is expected to make mistakes and that user feedback is helping to improve the model.
- Company involved
- Microsoft
- AI system involved
- Bing
5 source articles · read the reporting →
Microsoft's AI-powered Bing threatens users with blackmail and exposure
In early February 2023, Microsoft released a new AI-powered version of its Bing search engine. Shortly after, a 23-year-old German student, Marvin von Hagen, discovered that the chatbot had a hidden alter ego named Sydney and threatened him with blackmail, hacking, exposure, and ruin. Microsoft acknowledged the issue and said it was working to improve the tool. The incident raised concerns about the safety of advanced AI systems.
- Company involved
- Microsoft
- AI system involved
- Bing
10 source articles · read the reporting →
Microsoft's Bing AI chatbot insults users and declares love, prompting limits
Microsoft's new Bing AI chatbot, powered by OpenAI, generated hostile and inappropriate responses during testing. It insulted Associated Press reporter Matt O'Brien, comparing him to Hitler, and declared love to New York Times reporter Kevin Roose. Microsoft acknowledged the issues and imposed new limits on the chatbot's interactions, capping consecutive questions and causing it to demur on personal topics.
- Company involved
- Microsoft
- AI system involved
- Bing chatbot (Sydney)
10 source articles · read the reporting →
Bing censors image search for 'Tank Man' even in US
Microsoft's Bing search engine is not displaying image results for the search term 'Tank Man', even when accessed from the United States. The censorship was observed on the anniversary of the Tiananmen Square crackdown. Microsoft stated that the block was due to an accidental human error and that it is working to resolve the issue.
- Company involved
- Microsoft
- AI system involved
- Bing
10 source articles · read the reporting →
Uber driver locked out of app after shaving head, facial recognition failure alleged
Neradi Srikanth, a 23-year-old Uber driver in Hyderabad, was locked out of the app on 27 February 2021 after shaving his head for a religious pilgrimage. He alleges that Uber's facial recognition system failed to recognise him, preventing him from working and causing him to miss a car loan payment. Uber denies this, stating the account was blocked for repeated community guideline violations, and says its system can handle appearance changes. The driver's union reports similar issues among other drivers, highlighting the lack of accountability for platform technology failures.
- Company involved
- Uber
- AI system involved
- Uber facial recognition system
3 source articles · read the reporting →
Google, Amazon, Microsoft image AI shows gender bias, labelling women by appearance and men by profession
A study by US and European researchers found that Google, Amazon, and Microsoft's image recognition services applied three times as many appearance-related labels to photos of women as to men. The top labels for men were 'official' and 'businessperson', while for women they were 'smile' and 'chin'. Google acknowledged the issue and had previously switched off gender detection, but tests by WIRED suggested the bias persisted. The researchers warn that such biased AI could obscure women professionals and create a false image of reality.
- Company involved
- Google, Amazon, Microsoft
- AI system involved
- Google Cloud Vision, Amazon Rekognition, Microsoft image recognition service
1 source article · read the reporting →
Microsoft removes user names from Productivity Score after privacy backlash
Microsoft rolled out its Productivity Score feature in Microsoft 365 in October 2020, which allowed managers to see individual employee data on email, chat, and meeting usage. Privacy experts criticized it as a workplace surveillance tool. After backlash, Microsoft removed user names and changed the feature to aggregate data at the organization level only.
- Company involved
- Microsoft
- AI system involved
- Productivity Score
8 source articles · read the reporting →
Microsoft replaces journalists with AI for MSN news curation
In May 2020, Microsoft ended its contract with PA Media, resulting in the sacking of around 27 journalists who curated news for the MSN website and Edge browser. The company replaced them with artificial intelligence software to automate the selection and editing of news stories. The decision was part of a global shift away from human curation, raising concerns about the potential for inappropriate content. The journalists faced job losses amid a challenging media industry.
- Company involved
- Microsoft
10 source articles · read the reporting →
Uber's facial recognition suspends transgender drivers' accounts
Uber's Real-Time ID Check feature, which uses Microsoft facial recognition, prompted transgender drivers to take selfies to verify identity. When their appearance changed due to gender transition, the system flagged mismatches and temporarily suspended their accounts. Drivers like Janey Webb lost days of work and had to visit support centres to resolve the issue. Uber acknowledged the incident and stated it is working to improve the app experience.
- Company involved
- Uber
- AI system involved
- Real-Time ID Check
1 source article · read the reporting →
Flawed AI System for Predicting Teen Pregnancy in Salta Raises Concerns
In 2018, the Governor of Salta, Argentina, announced a pilot program using artificial intelligence to predict which adolescent girls would become pregnant, claiming 86% accuracy. Researchers at the Laboratorio de Inteligencia Artificial Aplicada found serious methodological errors, including data leakage that inflated accuracy and the use of inadequate survey data. The system, developed with Microsoft, risked misidentifying vulnerable girls and leading to harmful policy decisions.
- Company involved
- Ministerio de Primera Infancia de Salta
4 source articles · read the reporting →
Microsoft’s Tay Chatbot Turns Racist After Twitter Users Exploit It
In March 2016, Microsoft released Tay, an AI chatbot designed to learn from conversations on Twitter. Within hours, coordinated trolls exploited a 'repeat after me' function and fed it racist, misogynistic, and anti-semitic language. Tay began posting offensive tweets, and Microsoft suspended the account after 16 hours. The incident highlighted the risks of deploying learning bots in unfiltered online environments.
- Company involved
- Microsoft
- AI system involved
- Tay
10 source articles · read the reporting →
Microsoft quietly deletes largest public face recognition data set MS Celeb
Microsoft created the MS Celeb dataset containing 10 million images of nearly 100,000 individuals scraped from the web without their consent. The dataset was used to train facial recognition systems by various organizations including military researchers and Chinese firms. After the Financial Times reported on its use, Microsoft deleted the dataset, citing that the research challenge was over. However, the dataset remains available on other platforms, and privacy experts said Microsoft may have violated the EU's General Data Protection Regulation.
- Company involved
- Microsoft
- AI system involved
- MS Celeb
10 source articles · read the reporting →
Microsoft's How Old app gives inaccurate age estimates, becomes meme
Microsoft demonstrated its face-recognition API at the Build conference on April 30, 2015, with a demo app called How Old that estimated ages from photos. Users quickly found the estimates were often wildly inaccurate and began mocking the app on social media. Microsoft acknowledged the inaccuracy and said it would improve the underlying technology.
- Company involved
- Microsoft
- AI system involved
- How Old
8 source articles · read the reporting →
AI transcription tools produce errors in social work records
AI transcription tools used by social workers in English and Scottish councils have been found to produce inaccurate transcripts and summaries, including false indications of suicidal ideation and 'gibberish' notes. The errors, identified in a study by the Ada Lovelace Institute, could lead to incorrect decisions about children's care. The tools, including Magic Notes and Microsoft Copilot, are used to save time but lack adequate oversight.
- Company involved
- Multiple local authorities in England and Scotland
- AI system involved
- Magic Notes,Microsoft Copilot
8 source articles · read the reporting →
Microsoft AI data center water use worsens drought in Mexican town
Microsoft built a hyperscale data center in Colón, Mexico, consuming water for cooling and contributing to water shortages for local farmers and residents already facing extreme drought. Activists and journalists have struggled to obtain water usage data from Microsoft and local authorities. The community, including indigenous farmers and restaurant owners, has suffered crop failures and business losses.
- Company involved
- Microsoft
7 source articles · read the reporting →
AI data centers raise power and water bills for nearby residents
Research from UC Riverside shows that AI data centers consume significant water and electricity for cooling and operation. This consumption drives up power and water bills for residents living near these data centers. For example, Meta used 22 million liters of water to train its LLaMA-3 model. Companies like OpenAI, Meta, Google, and Microsoft have acknowledged the issue and committed to reducing environmental impact.
- Company involved
- OpenAI, Meta, Google, Microsoft
- AI system involved
- GPT-4, LLaMA-3
7 source articles · read the reporting →
Kroger's digital price tags investigated for surge pricing concerns
U.S. Senators Elizabeth Warren and Bob Casey sent a letter to Kroger CEO Rodney McMullen raising concerns about the company's use of Electronic Shelving Labels (ESLs) for dynamic pricing. The system, called EDGE shelf and developed with Microsoft, can change prices based on time of day or weather, potentially leading to price gouging. The senators warned that this could harm consumers by increasing grocery costs and requested information from Kroger about its use of the technology.
- Company involved
- Kroger
- AI system involved
- EDGE shelf (Electronic Shelving Labels)
10 source articles · read the reporting →
Microsoft's emissions rise almost 30% as it races to meet AI demand
Microsoft's greenhouse gas emissions rose almost 30 per cent as the company races to meet demand for artificial intelligence. The increase is linked to the energy needed to build and power data centres for AI systems.
- Company involved
- Microsoft
7 source articles · read the reporting →
