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Eminence Scan

AI failures

Documented cases where AI, or an automated system doing the same job, caused harm, a loss, a sanction or a retraction. Each case is checked against court records, regulator releases or established reporting. Each carries a lesson: the control that was missing, what would likely have prevented it, and what would have caught it sooner.

Last checked Reviewed twice a month

What the cases show

16%

of verified failures name the organization’s own review or monitoring among those who found the error. In the rest, only outsiders are recorded: a court, a client, a journalist, a researcher or the people affected.

The control that was missing

Counted across the cases with a reviewed lesson. A case can lack more than one control. Choose one to see its cases.

  1. Checking AI output against its sources37%
  2. Testing before use35%
  3. Monitoring and escalation19%
  4. Controls over input data17%
  5. A review that can actually catch the error17%
  6. A named owner and disclosure of AI use13%
  7. Oversight of suppliers' AI use13%
  8. Limits on what the system may decide or commit to11%
  9. Evidence behind claims about AI7%
  10. A way for affected people to challenge the decision6%
  11. Least access and separation from production4%
  12. Confirming requests through a separate channel2%

Fabricated contentHarmful outputIncorrect automated decisionOtherMisrepresented AI capabilityModel failureUnauthorized commitmentAutonomous destructive actionData exposureIdentity deception

What the cases teach

Where

World
World map: choose a countryFiji: no recordsTanzania: no recordsWestern Sahara: no recordsCanada: see its recordsUnited States: see its recordsKazakhstan: no recordsUzbekistan: no recordsPapua New Guinea: no recordsIndonesia: no recordsArgentina: no recordsChile: no recordsDR Congo: no recordsSomalia: no recordsKenya: no recordsSudan: no recordsChad: no recordsHaiti: no recordsDominican Republic: no recordsRussia: no recordsBahamas: no recordsFalkland Islands (Malvinas): no recordsNorway: no recordsGreenland: no recordsFrench Southern Territories: no recordsTimor-Leste: no recordsSouth Africa: no recordsLesotho: no recordsMexico: no recordsUruguay: no recordsBrazil: no recordsBolivia: no recordsPeru: no recordsColombia: no recordsPanama: no recordsCosta Rica: no recordsNicaragua: no recordsHonduras: no recordsEl Salvador: no recordsGuatemala: no recordsBelize: no recordsVenezuela: no recordsGuyana: no recordsSuriname: no recordsFrance: no recordsEcuador: no recordsPuerto Rico: no recordsJamaica: no recordsCuba: no recordsZimbabwe: no recordsBotswana: no recordsNamibia: no recordsSenegal: no recordsMali: no recordsMauritania: no recordsBenin: no recordsNiger: no recordsNigeria: no recordsCameroon: no recordsTogo: no recordsGhana: no recordsCôte d’Ivoire: no recordsGuinea: no recordsGuinea-Bissau: no recordsLiberia: no recordsSierra Leone: no recordsBurkina Faso: no recordsCentral African Republic: no recordsCongo: no recordsGabon: no recordsEquatorial Guinea: no recordsZambia: no recordsMalawi: no recordsMozambique: no recordsEswatini: no recordsAngola: no recordsBurundi: no recordsIsrael: no recordsLebanon: no recordsMadagascar: no recordsPalestine: no recordsThe Gambia: no recordsTunisia: no recordsAlgeria: no recordsJordan: no recordsUnited Arab Emirates: no recordsQatar: no recordsKuwait: no recordsIraq: no recordsOman: no recordsVanuatu: no recordsCambodia: no recordsThailand: no recordsLaos: no recordsMyanmar: no recordsVietnam: no recordsNorth Korea: no recordsSouth Korea: no recordsMongolia: no recordsIndia: see its recordsBangladesh: no recordsBhutan: no recordsNepal: no recordsPakistan: no recordsAfghanistan: no recordsTajikistan: no recordsKyrgyzstan: no recordsTurkmenistan: no recordsIran: no recordsSyria: no recordsArmenia: no recordsSweden: no recordsBelarus: no recordsUkraine: no recordsPoland: no recordsAustria: no recordsHungary: no recordsMoldova: no recordsRomania: no recordsLithuania: no recordsLatvia: no recordsEstonia: no recordsGermany: no recordsBulgaria: no recordsGreece: no recordsTürkiye: no recordsAlbania: no recordsCroatia: no recordsSwitzerland: no recordsLuxembourg: no recordsBelgium: no recordsNetherlands: no recordsPortugal: no recordsSpain: no recordsIreland: no recordsNew Caledonia: no recordsSolomon Islands: no recordsNew Zealand: see its recordsAustralia: see its recordsSri Lanka: no recordsChina: no recordsTaiwan: no recordsItaly: no recordsDenmark: see its recordsUnited Kingdom: see its recordsIceland: no recordsAzerbaijan: no recordsGeorgia: no recordsPhilippines: no recordsMalaysia: no recordsBrunei Darussalam: no recordsSlovenia: no recordsFinland: no recordsSlovakia: no recordsCzechia: no recordsEritrea: no recordsJapan: no recordsParaguay: no recordsYemen: no recordsSaudi Arabia: see its recordsN. Cyprus: no recordsCyprus: no recordsMorocco: no recordsEgypt: no recordsLibya: no recordsEthiopia: no recordsDjibouti: no recordsSomaliland: no recordsUganda: no recordsRwanda: no recordsBosnia and Herzegovina: no recordsNorth Macedonia: no recordsSerbia: no recordsMontenegro: no recordsKosovo: no recordsTrinidad and Tobago: no recordsSouth Sudan: no recordsHong Kong: see its records
United States
Map of the United States: choose a stateAlabama: no recordsAlaska: no recordsArizona: no recordsColorado: no recordsFlorida: see its recordsGeorgia: no recordsIndiana: no recordsKansas: no recordsMaine: no recordsMassachusetts: no recordsMinnesota: see its recordsNew Jersey: no recordsNorth Carolina: no recordsNorth Dakota: no recordsOklahoma: no recordsPennsylvania: no recordsSouth Dakota: no recordsTexas: see its recordsWyoming: see its recordsConnecticut: no recordsMissouri: see its recordsWest Virginia: no recordsIllinois: no recordsNew Mexico: no recordsArkansas: no recordsCalifornia: see its recordsDelaware: no recordsDistrict of Columbia: no recordsHawaii: no recordsIowa: no recordsKentucky: no recordsMaryland: see its recordsMichigan: see its recordsMississippi: no recordsMontana: no recordsNew Hampshire: no recordsNew York: see its recordsOhio: no recordsOregon: no recordsTennessee: no recordsUtah: no recordsVirginia: no recordsWashington: no recordsWisconsin: no recordsNebraska: no recordsSouth Carolina: no recordsIdaho: see its recordsNevada: no recordsVermont: no recordsLouisiana: no recordsRhode Island: no records

Records12–45–910 or moreNone

International or several countries

Records that match

  1. United KingdomHarmful outputMarch 24, 2026

    Internet Watch Foundation — Record 8,029 AI-Generated Child Sexual Abuse Items Found in 2025

    The Internet Watch Foundation reported on March 24, 2026, that it identified 8,029 AI-generated images and videos of realistic child sexual abuse in 2025, a 14% increase on the previous year.

    Statistic

  2. United KingdomHarmful outputNovember 18, 2025

    Which? Tests Find AI Chatbots Giving Wrong UK Money Advice, Including on ISA Allowance

    Consumer group Which? tested six AI tools (ChatGPT, Google Gemini, Gemini AI Overviews, Microsoft Copilot, Meta AI and Perplexity) on 40 consumer questions across money, legal, health and travel topics.

    Study

  3. United KingdomHarmful outputMarch 14, 2023

    Snapchat My AI — Unsafe Responses to a Simulated 13-Year-Old; UK ICO Investigation

    Soon after Snap launched its My AI chatbot in 2023, testers reported unsafe conversations.

  4. United KingdomOther

    UK Post Office Horizon Scandal — Faulty Accounting Software Data Used to Prosecute 900+ Sub-postmasters

    Horizon, a branch accounting and stocktaking system built by Fujitsu, falsely reported cash shortfalls in Post Office branch accounts.

Using our research: you may read and quote Eminence Scan with credit to “Eminence Scan, Eminence Growth Solutions” and a link; all other rights reserved. Terms: Using our research.