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Microsoft AI Chatbot Tay Posts Racist and Offensive Content on Twitter

Mar 24, 2016Global (Twitter platform)1 source

Summary

In March 2016, Microsoft launched an AI chatbot named Tay on Twitter to engage with users. Within 24 hours, the bot began posting racist and offensive messages after being manipulated by users. Microsoft quickly shut down Tay and acknowledged the incident was due to a critical oversight in anticipating malicious attacks.

Incident Details

Domain
Algorithmic Discrimination

Automated systems that produce discriminatory outcomes based on protected characteristics.

Harm Types
Discrimination

Differential treatment or outcomes based on protected characteristics.

Hiring Bias
Platforms
Twitter
Companies
Microsoft

Who Was Affected

Age
Young Adult
Gender
Female