Fatal Algorithms: When Your Software Has a Body Count
This isn't about lost money or bad PR. This is about code that kills.
Fatal Algorithms When Code Kills
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I'm Mario, and today we’re digging into the code that was given power over life and death... and failed catastrophically. These companies put blind faith in automated systems, and real people paid the price. This is the darkest side of automation.
Forget the hype. This is what’s at stake.
1. Boeing: When the Safety System Became the Threat
Boeing installed the MCAS "safety" system on the 737 MAX to prevent stalls. But it was designed to take control from pilots, triggered by a single, often-faulty sensor. Worse, they didn't properly train pilots on how to fight it. The software, designed to save the plane, flew it directly into the ground. Twice.
The code that was supposed to prevent a crash, caused it.
Metric
Figure
Lives Lost
346
Operating Losses
$31.9 Billion
The Sin
Automation without oversight
The lesson: Never hide critical automation from the user. Never rely on a single point of failure. The pilots were left battling a ghost in their own machine. It was a fatal failure of design, transparency, and training.
2. Tesla: Autopilot's Deadly "Safety Gap"
Tesla marketed its driver-assist as "Autopilot," a name that implies far more capability than it has. Drivers grew complacent, trusting the system to handle situations it couldn't. The result? Hundreds of crashes, many into stationary objects directly in the car's path, and at least 14 deaths.
