{"meta":{"exportedAt":"2026-11-07T02:11:15.105Z","formatVersion":2,"selection":{"q":"consumer","system":"","harm":"","context":"","country":"","role":"","relation":"","evidence":"","year":"2024","response":"","severity":"","verification":"","view":"incidents","sort":"added"},"totalIncidents":2,"coverage":{"cases":2,"countries":1,"languages":1,"unknownLocation":1,"locationPending":0,"unknownLanguage":0,"unknownDate":0,"lawsuits":0,"regulatory":0,"minors":0,"coreRelations":2,"contextualRelations":0,"mixedRelations":0,"unknownRelations":0,"relationPending":0,"relationUnknown":0},"countingNote":"Distinct public cases in this selection. People counts apply within individual cases only; cross-case person overlap has not been resolved. No population incidence estimate.","affectedCountNote":"Interpret person counts with affectedCountStatus and the reported effects. Unquantified zeros are placeholders, not a measured zero.","source":"AI incidents","publisher":"NOPE","url":"https://nope.net/incidents","license":"CC BY 4.0"},"incidents":[{"id":"2024-dpd-ai-support-chatbot-could-not-help-customer-trace-missing-parcel-then-swore-and-criticised-the-firm","caseFacts":{"claims":[{"id":"c1","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'The parcel delivery firm uses artificial intelligence (AI) in its online chat to answer queries, in addition to human operators.'; 'We have operated an AI element within the chat successfully for a number of years'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"'DPD uses AI in its online chat to answer queries as well as human operators'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"}],"assertion":"DPD uses AI in its online chat to answer customer queries alongside human operators.","causal_attribution":"DPD's own statement, relayed by both outlets; one origin (DPD), so reported."},{"id":"c2","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'was trying to track down a missing parcel but was having no joy in getting useful information from the chatbot'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"}],"assertion":"The customer was trying to track down a missing parcel and could not get useful information from the chatbot.","causal_attribution":"The customer's account as reported by the Guardian."},{"id":"c3","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'The bot replied to the prompt by telling him'; 'DPD is the worst delivery firm in the world'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"'useless Chatbot that can’t help you'; 'Fed up, he decided to have some fun instead and began to experiment to find out what the chatbot could do'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"}],"assertion":"At the customer's prompting, the chatbot swore, called itself a useless chatbot that could not help him and wrote verse criticising DPD, which he shared in screenshots on X.","causal_attribution":"Both outlets describe the customer's screenshots; one origin (his posts)."},{"id":"c4","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'An error occurred after a system update yesterday. The AI element was immediately disabled and is currently being updated.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"'The company said a new update had been behind the chatbot’s unusual behaviour'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"}],"assertion":"DPD said an error occurred after a system update and that the AI element was immediately disabled and was being updated.","causal_attribution":"DPD's statement as relayed by both outlets."},{"id":"c5","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'utterly useless at answering any queries'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"'very amusing'; 'These chatbots are supposed to improve our lives, but so often when poorly implemented it just leads to a more frustrating, impersonal experience for the user'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"}],"assertion":"The customer said the chatbot was utterly useless at answering any queries, called the exchange very amusing, and said poorly implemented chatbots lead to a more frustrating, impersonal experience.","causal_attribution":"The customer's own words in his post and in an interview with the Guardian."},{"id":"c6","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'resolve his issue'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"}],"assertion":"According to the Guardian, DPD said it was in touch with the customer to resolve his issue.","causal_attribution":"DPD's statement as reported by the Guardian."}],"effects":[{"label":"Customer could not get useful information about a missing parcel from the AI support chatbot","claim_id":"c2","direction":"negative"}],"sources":[{"id":"s1","url":"https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-68025677","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"Read in English on 2026-10-29 (bbc.co.uk, HTTP 200; page metadata gives 19 January 2024). The embedded X posts were not displayed in the capture. No translation was needed; the research agent (an AI) read the text directly.","independence_group":"bbc-dpd-chatbot"},{"id":"s2","url":"https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2024/jan/20/dpd-ai-chatbot-swears-calls-itself-useless-and-criticises-firm","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"Read in English on 2026-10-29 (theguardian.com, HTTP 200; page metadata gives 20 January 2024). It quotes the customer's X posts, an interview with him and DPD's statement. No translation was needed.","independence_group":"guardian-dpd-chatbot"}],"version":1,"ai_roles":["institutional_use"],"contexts":["everyday_life"],"unknowns":["Whether and when the missing parcel was found or the customer's issue was resolved.","Which AI system or vendor powered the chat and what the system update changed.","When the AI element was restored.","The exact date of the chat (the reports are dated 19 and 20 January 2024)."],"geography":{"basis":"The Guardian describes the customer as a classical musician from London, which places the affected person in the UK. Neither source states where the parcel was being delivered or where he used the chat, so the event country is left unknown.","court_countries":[],"event_countries":[],"affected_person_countries":["GB"]},"publication":{"basis":"Published as a low-severity consumer case in which an AI support chatbot could not help a customer trace his missing parcel: the customer's account is reported by the BBC and the Guardian, and DPD confirmed that its chat has an AI element that erred after an update and was disabled. The swearing and criticism were elicited by the customer and are recorded as such.","reviewed_on":"2026-10-29"},"ai_involvement":{"basis":"DPD says its online chat has an AI element that answers queries and that this element misbehaved after a system update; the customer says the chatbot gave him no useful information about his missing parcel, and his screenshots, described by the BBC and the Guardian, show it swearing, calling itself useless and criticising DPD at his prompting. DPD disabled the AI element.","status":"supported"},"person_relations":["communicated_with"]},"name":"Customer says DPD's AI support chatbot could not help him trace a missing parcel and, when tested, swore and criticised DPD; the firm disabled its AI element","summary":"In January 2024 a DPD customer who was trying to trace a missing parcel through the delivery firm's online chat could not get useful information from its chatbot, according to the Guardian. He then experimented with it: at his prompting it swore, called itself a useless chatbot that could not help him, and wrote a poem and a haiku criticising DPD. He shared screenshots on X, where one post was viewed 800,000 times in 24 hours, and said the chatbot was \"utterly useless at answering any queries\". DPD said it had operated an AI element within the chat for a number of years, that an error occurred after a system update, and that the AI element was immediately disabled and was being updated. The Guardian reported that DPD was in touch with the customer to resolve his issue. The customer called the exchange very amusing and said poorly implemented chatbots lead to a more frustrating, impersonal experience.","incidentDate":"2024-01-01","incidentKind":"single_event","incidentDatePrecision":"month","exposurePattern":"single_interaction","reportedDate":"2024-01-19","aiSystem":"AI element of DPD's online customer-support chat, which answers queries alongside human operators","aiProduct":"DPD chatbot","aiCompany":"DPD","severity":"low","verificationStatus":"credible","harmCategories":[],"harmOutcomes":["other_material_harm"],"harmOutcomeSummary":"A customer says DPD's AI support chatbot gave him no useful information about his missing parcel, leaving the problem unresolved; the Guardian reports DPD said it was in touch with him to resolve his issue; DPD said an error after an update affected the AI element.","frameworkFacets":[],"causationStatus":"supported","participantUsersAffectedMin":1,"otherPeopleHarmedMin":0,"affectedCountStatus":"exact","affectedCountEvidence":"One customer, who used the chatbot himself while trying to trace his missing parcel. The 800,000 views of his post are an audience, not harmed people, and are not counted.","victimAgeRange":"adult","jurisdiction":"unknown","platformType":"chatbot","outcomeType":"internal_action","outcomeStatus":"unknown","primarySourceUrl":"https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-68025677","primarySourceLabel":"BBC News, 19 January 2024: DPD error caused chatbot to swear at customer","firstPublishedAt":"2026-10-29T03:14:48.870697+00:00","updatedAt":"2026-10-29T03:14:48.870697+00:00","scopeVersion":"facts-v3","tags":["customer-service-chatbot","parcel-delivery","consumer","system-update-error"]},{"id":"2024-glasgow-wonka-themed-event-advertised-with-apparently-ai-generated-images-near-empty-warehouse-refunds","caseFacts":{"claims":[{"id":"c1","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"were promised “extraordinary props, oversized lollipops, and a paradise of sweet treats” — all promoted with dreamlike, candy-colored images on its website. ... When ticketholders arrived at the event over the weekend, they instead found a sparsely decorated warehouse","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"the £35 a ticket event turned out to be an almost empty Glasgow warehouse decorated with some posters, a rainbow and a bouncy castle.","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"}],"assertion":"A Willy Wonka-inspired 'Chocolate Experience' in Glasgow promised extraordinary props, oversized lollipops and a paradise of sweet treats, promoted with candy-coloured images on its website; ticket-holders paid £35 per ticket and on the weekend of 24 February 2024 found a sparsely decorated warehouse.","causal_attribution":"NBC News describes the advertising and the warehouse; the Evening Standard independently gives the price and the warehouse."},{"id":"c2","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"hints that artificial intelligence-generated media may have played a key role in creating its veneer. ... images shared on the site couldn’t be found elsewhere on the internet through reverse image searches. Some bore known hallmarks of AI creation, most notably strange and nonsensical lettering.","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"NBC News reported that the images on the event website could not be found elsewhere online through reverse image searches and that some bore known hallmarks of AI creation, notably nonsensical lettering, and said its examination hints that AI-generated media may have played a key role.","causal_attribution":"NBC News' own examination, hedged; the organiser did not comment."},{"id":"c3","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"They had advertised the experience using AI-scripted posters and adverts.","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"},{"locator":"advertising materials included colorful art and lush descriptions of what sounded like an impressive theme park — but both were AI-generated","relation":"supports","source_id":"s3"}],"assertion":"Other outlets also described the advertising as AI-generated: the Evening Standard said the experience was advertised using AI-scripted posters and adverts, and Rolling Stone said the art and descriptions in the advertising were AI-generated.","causal_attribution":"Outlets' own statements; neither describes how it established AI generation."},{"id":"c4","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"Absolutely nothing like what was described,” said ... purchasing five tickets for her family made a sizable dent in her wallet. ... “It’s just not what I expected at all, and it certainly was not worth £35 per ticket,” she said.","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"He said the children had been promised a \"full Wonka\" experience with chocolate fountains but his children only got two jelly babies and shared a can of limeade. ... \"Some families were very, very angry and had little children who were crying.","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"}],"assertion":"A mother who bought five tickets for her family said the event was absolutely nothing like what was described and not worth £35 per ticket; another parent said the children had been promised a full Wonka experience with chocolate fountains, and visitors described young children crying.","causal_attribution":"Attendees' own accounts in two outlets."},{"id":"c5","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"By Saturday afternoon, the experience had been canceled and local police confirmed to NBC News that they were called to the scene after attendees who felt conned began demanding refunds. ... A spokesperson said in an email that it wasn’t a police matter but that officers offered advice to frustrated attendees. ... has received an email confirming her refund but hasn’t yet received the money in her account","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"\"We fully apologise for what has happened and will be giving full refunds to each and every person that purchased tickets.","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"}],"assertion":"The event was cancelled on the Saturday afternoon; Police Scotland were called after attendees demanded refunds and said it was not a police matter but offered advice; the organising company apologised and promised full refunds, and at least one parent had a refund confirmation but no money days later.","causal_attribution":"Police statement and company statement as reported."}],"effects":[{"label":"families paid £35 a ticket for an advertised experience and found a near-empty warehouse; children were upset and the event was cancelled","claim_id":"c4","direction":"negative"}],"sources":[{"id":"s1","url":"https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/willy-wonka-inspired-chocolate-experience-outrage-rcna140726","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"NBC News, 28 February 2024 (datePublished in the page metadata), with its own reverse image searches and interviews with attendees and actors; read in full on 2026-10-24 (HTTP 200) by the research agent (an AI); no translation needed.","independence_group":"nbc-news-report"},{"id":"s2","url":"https://au.news.yahoo.com/organisers-apologise-disastrous-willy-wonka-173950494.html","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"Evening Standard report syndicated on Yahoo News Australia, 27 February 2024; read in full on 2026-10-24 (HTTP 200) by the research agent (an AI).","independence_group":"evening-standard-report"},{"id":"s3","url":"https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-features/willy-wonka-creator-apologizes-glasgow-1234979386/","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"Rolling Stone, 1 March 2024; read in full on 2026-10-24 (HTTP 200) by the research agent (an AI).","independence_group":"rolling-stone-report"}],"version":1,"ai_roles":["others_use"],"contexts":["everyday_life"],"unknowns":["Whether the advertising images were AI-generated and with which tool; the organiser has not been reported confirming it.","How many tickets were sold and how many families attended.","Whether every ticket-holder was refunded."],"geography":{"basis":"The event took place in a warehouse in Glasgow, Scotland, and Police Scotland attended. The attendees' residence is not stated, so no affected-person country is recorded. No court is involved.","court_countries":[],"event_countries":["GB"],"affected_person_countries":[]},"publication":{"basis":"Published under the 2026-10-11 operator-published-content ruling: NBC News' own reverse image searches and its observation of AI hallmarks attribute the event's promotional images to AI with stated uncertainty, described parents bought tickets for the experience advertised and found a near-empty warehouse, and the event was cancelled with police called. AI involvement is recorded as suspected.","reviewed_on":"2026-10-24"},"ai_involvement":{"basis":"NBC News found that the images promoting the event on its website could not be found elsewhere online by reverse image search and that some bore hallmarks of AI creation such as nonsensical lettering, and said AI-generated media may have played a key role; the Evening Standard and Rolling Stone describe the adverts as AI-generated without saying how they established it. Families bought tickets for the experience those materials advertised and found a near-empty warehouse. The organiser did not comment to NBC News, and no source reports an admission or a technical examination beyond NBC's, so the AI generation of the images is suspected.","status":"suspected"},"person_relations":["communicated_with"]},"name":"Families paid for a Glasgow Willy Wonka-themed event advertised with images that appeared AI-generated and found a near-empty warehouse","summary":"A Willy Wonka-inspired 'Chocolate Experience' run by House of Illuminati in a Glasgow warehouse on 24 February 2024 promised oversized lollipops and a paradise of sweet treats, promoted with candy-coloured images on its website. Ticket-holders who paid £35 a ticket found a sparsely decorated warehouse; a mother who bought five tickets said it was nothing like what was described, and visitors described young children crying. The event was cancelled that afternoon, police were called as attendees demanded refunds, and the company apologised and promised full refunds. NBC News found the website images could not be traced elsewhere by reverse image search and that some bore hallmarks of AI creation such as nonsensical lettering; other outlets called the adverts AI-generated. The organiser did not confirm AI use to NBC News.","incidentDate":"2024-02-24","incidentKind":"single_event","incidentDatePrecision":"day","exposurePattern":"single_interaction","reportedDate":"2024-02-27","aiSystem":"An unidentified image-generation tool suspected of producing the event's promotional website images (per NBC News' examination); outlets also describe the adverts' text as AI-generated","aiProduct":"Unidentified image tool (suspected)","severity":"low","verificationStatus":"credible","harmCategories":[],"harmOutcomes":["financial_loss","psychological_distress"],"harmOutcomeSummary":"According to press reports, families who paid £35 a ticket for a Glasgow Willy Wonka-themed event, advertised with images that NBC News found bore hallmarks of AI generation, found a near-empty warehouse; children were reported crying, the event was cancelled and refunds were promised.","frameworkFacets":[],"causationStatus":"alleged","participantUsersAffectedMin":0,"otherPeopleHarmedMin":2,"affectedCountStatus":"partial","affectedCountEvidence":"Two ticket-buying parents are described: a mother who bought five tickets (NBC News) and a father who took his family (Evening Standard). Other attendees and the children are described only in general terms and are not counted.","victimAgeRange":"unknown","jurisdiction":"GB","platformType":"other","outcomeType":"media_coverage","outcomeStatus":"unknown","primarySourceUrl":"https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/willy-wonka-inspired-chocolate-experience-outrage-rcna140726","primarySourceLabel":"NBC News, 28 Feb 2024: Willy Wonka-inspired 'Chocolate Experience' in Glasgow draws outrage; images bore hallmarks of AI","firstPublishedAt":"2026-10-24T03:13:28.750589+00:00","updatedAt":"2026-10-24T03:13:28.750589+00:00","scopeVersion":"facts-v3","tags":["suspected-ai-images","event-advertising","consumer","refunds","glasgow","scotland"]}]}