It doesn't take much to make machine-learning algorithms go awry

The algorithms that underlie modern artificial-intelligence (AI) systems need lots of data on which to train. Much of that data comes from the open web which, unfortunately, makes the AIs susceptible to a type of cyber-attack known as "data poisoning". This means modifying or adding extraneous information to a training data set so that an algorithm learns harmful or undesirable behaviours. Like a real poison, poisoned data could go unnoticed until after the damage has been done. Your browser does not support the audio element.