Back in 2017, The Economist declared that data, not oil, had become the world’s most valuable resource, and the refrain has been repeated ever since. Organizations across every industry have been investing, and continue to heavily invest, in data and analytics. But like oil, data and analytics have their dark side.
According to CIO’s State of the CIO Survey 2025, 42% of CIOs say AI and ML are their biggest technology priority for 2025. And while actions driven by ML algorithms can give organizations a competitive advantage, mistakes can be costly in terms of reputation, revenue, or even lives.
Understanding your data and what it’s telling you is important, but it’s equally vital to understand your tools, know your data, and keep your organization’s values firmly in mind. And with that in mind, here are a handful of high-profile AI blunders in recent times to illustrate what can, and still does, go wrong.
Parents sue OpenAI for involvement in teenager’s suicide
The parents of a 16-year-old California boy sued OpenAI, as well as co-founder and CEO Sam Altman, in August 2025, alleging its ChatGPT chatbot encouraged him to commit suicide.
