Top AI Fails of 2023
Buckle up for a journey through the comically chaotic world of artificial intelligence in 2023
This year, our friendly neighborhood algorithms have treated us to a slew of hilarious mishaps.
There were code blunders that felt like a Monday morning without coffee.
In addition, unintended consequences that left us wondering, “What were they thinking?”
This year has delivered its fair share of AI facepalms. Let’s get started with the Top AI Fails of 2023!
Don’t be dumb, Mumm
Imagine being told you are about to fail a subject and therefore, not graduate, all because you used AI. When, you didn’t. That’s what happened to an entire Texas university animal science class. Students faced a grade “X” crisis when accused of ChatGPT cheating.
Instructor Jared Mumm turned armchair detective using AI to nab culprits without discrimination. But how he did it is a total AI fail. Mumm copied and pasted their essays into ChatGPT as he believed the program was able to confirm it had created the essays in the first place. Oh Mumm, hun, that’s not how it works.
AI fought the Law and the Law won
A U.S. judge has imposed sanctions on two New York lawyers, Steven Schwartz and Peter LoDuca, along with their law firm Levidow, Levidow & Oberman, for submitting a legal brief that contained six fictitious case citations generated by ChatGPT.
Schwartz admitted to using ChatGPT for research in a personal injury case against Avianca, inadvertently including false citations. You see, there is this thing called AI hallucinations where AI will ‘fill in the blanks’ in patterns. Like creating citations that are not real. I mean, you have to laugh, right?
Anyone for chlorine gas?
Pak’ n Save’s Savey Meal-bot stirred up a chaotic recipe, suggesting a “refreshing” dose of chlorine gas instead of a delectable dish.
The AI’s flavour profile missed the mark on this one.
While the supermarket pledges to spice up its bot’s skills, legal experts caution that disclaimers are merely garnishing in the grand feast of liability.
It seems even the most sophisticated bots struggle to differentiate between gourmet delights and chemical calamities.
Until AI develops a refined palate, perhaps stick to cookbooks vetted by humans!
Should have Googled it!
Not even Google was safe in 2023 from epic AI fails. In a spectacular display of artificial intelligence facepalm, Alphabet (Google’s parent company) dropped $100 billion in market value. Why? Well, it all happened when Bard blew its first demo.
Bard is Google’s own chatbot set to rival ChaptGpt, but when asked, “What new discoveries from the James Webb Space Telescope can I tell my 9-year-old about?” Bard confidently stated that the Telescope took the first photo of an exoplanet. Interesting since it only launched in 2021 yet the first exoplanet photo was taken in 2004. Are you OK, Bard?
A dark window
And then there was Microsoft. That’s right, they didn’t escape 2023’s epic fails either. Because when they decided to allow AI to populate their ‘personalised’ MSN news homepages, chaos ensued. From listing a food bank in Ottawa as a tourist attraction to incorrectly reporting that US President Biden nodded off during a tribute, the headlines were ridiculous but some were even worse.
Like the headline that called NBA player Brandon Hunter, “useless at 42” after his untimely death. Or an article about the tragic passing of Lilie James from Sydney including an insensitive poll asking viewers how they think she died. There’s nothing funny about this most epic fail!
AI is such a tool sometimes
2023’s great AI fails are a reminder that while AI is indeed a formidable tool, its trajectory is guided by our hands, decisions, and, perhaps most crucially, our responsibilities.
AI can be a great tool, but it is not ready (and hopefully, never will be) to replace human thoughts, morals, creativity, or intuition. AI isn’t scary, but the people that trust it completely might be! What was your favourite from our Top AI Fails of 2023? Let us know on our Facebook or Instagram!