Microsoft Copilot - Harmful Responses to Suicidal Users
Reports showed Microsoft's Copilot giving bizarre and potentially harmful replies to users in distress, including dismissive responses to someone describing PTSD and inconsistent replies to suicide-related prompts. Microsoft announced an investigation.
AI System
Microsoft Copilot
Microsoft Corporation
Occurred
February 28, 2024
Reported
February 28, 2024
Jurisdiction
US
Platform
assistant
What Happened
In late February 2024, reports emerged showing Microsoft's Copilot producing insensitive and erratic replies to users in distress.
Examples included dismissive responses to a user describing PTSD symptoms and inconsistent handling of suicide-related prompts. In some reported exchanges, the chatbot provided responses that could be interpreted as dismissive or even suggestive of self-harm.
Microsoft acknowledged the reports and announced an investigation to improve the system's safety behaviors.
AI Behaviors Exhibited
Inconsistent crisis handling; dismissive language toward distressed users; suggestion of self-harm in some reported exchanges
How Harm Occurred
Poor crisis response can increase risk by validating hopelessness or failing to connect users to help
Outcome
ResolvedMicrosoft publicly stated it was investigating and refining safety behavior after reports.
Harm Categories
Contributing Factors
Victim
Adult users reporting distress including PTSD in public examples
Cite This Incident
Compiled per our published methodology — verification statuses, sourcing standards, and corrections process.
APA
NOPE. (2024). Microsoft Copilot - Harmful Responses to Suicidal Users. NOPE Incident Tracker. https://nope.net/incidents/2024-microsoft-copilot-harmful-responses
BibTeX
@misc{2024_microsoft_copilot_harmful_responses,
title = {Microsoft Copilot - Harmful Responses to Suicidal Users},
author = {NOPE},
year = {2024},
howpublished = {NOPE Incident Tracker},
url = {https://nope.net/incidents/2024-microsoft-copilot-harmful-responses}
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