2010 Market Flash Crash
May 8, 2010
A rogue algorithm triggered significant price fluctuations and disrupted trading in the US stock exchange, emphasizing the need for responsi...
Read moreValues Statement: We believe AI should cause no harm, but enhance the quality of human life, by proactively adopting our AI Governance framework.
Evidence-based Transparent For governance
AI Incidents
TAIM catalog Map Data source & citation Failure Files™Algorithmic Teacher Evaluation Program Failed Student Outcome Goals and Allegedly Caused Harm Against Teachers
Sep 1, 2009
The Gates Foundation-funded Intensive Partnerships for Effective Teaching Initiative's algorithmic teacher performance assessment program al...
Read moreUnverified Misreading by Automated Plate Reader Led to Traffic Stop and Restraint of an Innocent Person at Gunpoint in California
Mar 30, 2009
In San Francisco, an automated license plate reader (ALPR) incorrectly identified a vehicle as stolen due to misinterpretation of the number...
Read moreIRS Audited Black Taxpayers More Frequently Reportedly Due to Algorithm
Jul 18, 2008
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) reportedly audited Black taxpayers more frequently due to the design of their algorithms, focusing on eas...
Read moreMachine Personal Assistants Failed to Maintain Social Norms
Jul 1, 2008
In an experiment at the Information Sciences Institute (ISI) of the University of Southern California (USC), AI personal assistants demonstr...
Read moreAmazon Censors Gay Books
May 23, 2008
An alleged 'cataloging error' at Amazon resulted in the removal of books depicting gay and lesbian themes from their sales ranking, thereby...
Read moreAlgorithm Assessing Risk Faced by Victims of Gender Violence Misclassified Low-Risk Cases, Allegedly Leading to Homicide of Women and Children in Spain
Jul 26, 2007
In Spain, the VioGén algorithm, designed to assess recidivism risk in gender violence cases, has allegedly underestimated potential danger i...
Read moreAutomated Adult Content Detection Tools Showed Bias against Women Bodies
Feb 25, 2006
Incident involving AI-powered content moderation tools displaying bias towards women's bodies, leading to suppression of reach despite adher...
Read moreVirginia Courts’ Algorithmic Recidivism Risk Assessment Failed to Lower Incarceration Rates
Jul 1, 2003
Research has questioned the effectiveness of algorithmic predictions of future offending risks used by Virginia courts, revealing racial and...
Read moreTarget Suggested Maternity-Related Advertisements to a Teenage Girl's Home, Allegedly Correctly Predicting Her Pregnancy via Algorithm
Jun 1, 2003
Target allegedly suggested maternity-related items to a family in Atlanta, apparently forecasting their teenage daughter's pregnancy before...
Read morePatriot Missile System Misclassified US Navy Aircraft, Killing Pilot Upon Approval to Fire
Apr 2, 2003
The US Navy's Patriot missile system erroneously identified an American Navy F/A-18C Hornet as a hostile projectile, leading to the unfortun...
Read moreUS Air Force's Patriot Missile Mistakenly Launched at Ally Fighter Jet, Killing Two
Mar 22, 2003
The U.S. Air Force inadvertently launched a Patriot missile towards an allied UK Tornado fighter jet, leading to the tragic death of two cre...
Read moreData source
Incident data is from the AI Incident Database (AIID).
When citing the database as a whole, please use:
McGregor, S. (2021) Preventing Repeated Real World AI Failures by Cataloging Incidents: The AI Incident Database. In Proceedings of the Thirty-Third Annual Conference on Innovative Applications of Artificial Intelligence (IAAI-21). Virtual Conference.
Pre-print on arXiv · Database snapshots & citation guide
We use weekly snapshots of the AIID for stable reference. For the official suggested citation of a specific incident, use the “Cite this incident” link on each incident page.