# Microsoft’s AI Twitter bot goes dark after racist, sexist tweets (HT Tech)

> TayTweets (@TayandYou), which began tweeting on Wednesday, was designed to become “smarter” as more users interacted with it, according to its Twitter biography

# Microsoft’s AI Twitter bot goes dark after racist, sexist tweets

## TayTweets (@TayandYou), which began tweeting on Wednesday, was designed to become “smarter” as more users interacted with it, according to its Twitter biography

Mar 25 2016, 11:04 IST

![Follow on Facebook](https://images.hindustantimes.com/tech/static/revamp/images/png/follow-us-facebook.png)

![Follow on Facebook](https://images.hindustantimes.com/tech/static/revamp/images/png/follow-us-facebook-hover.png)

![Share](https://images.hindustantimes.com/tech/static/revamp/images/png/Share.png)

![Share](https://images.hindustantimes.com/tech/static/revamp/images/png/Shareclicked.png)

![Share on WhatsApp](https://images.hindustantimes.com/tech/static/revamp/images/png/whatsapp.png)

![Share on WhatsApp](https://images.hindustantimes.com/tech/static/revamp/images/png/whatsapp-hover.png)

![Share on Twitter](https://images.hindustantimes.com/tech/static/revamp/images/png/twitter.png)

![Share on Twitter](https://images.hindustantimes.com/tech/static/revamp/images/png/twitter-hover.png)

![Share on Facebook](https://images.hindustantimes.com/tech/static/revamp/images/png/facebook.png)

![Share on Facebook](https://images.hindustantimes.com/tech/static/revamp/images/png/facebook-hover.png)

![Bookmark](https://images.hindustantimes.com/tech/static/revamp/images/png/Bookmark.png)

![Bookmarked](https://images.hindustantimes.com/tech/static/revamp/images/png/Bookmarked.png)

![image caption](https://images.hindustantimes.com/tech/rf/image_size_800x600/HT/p2/2016/03/25/Pictures/_1384c956-f246-11e5-8dad-b4df26f49330.jpg)

TayTweets (@TayandYou), which began tweeting on Wednesday, was designed to become “smarter” as more users interacted with it, according to its Twitter biography

![Author Photo](https://images.hindustantimes.com/tech/static/revamp/images/png/HTTech-new-circle-logo.png)

### By REUTERS

Tay, Microsoft's so-called chatbot that uses artificial intelligence to engage with millennials on Twitter, lasted less than a day before it was hobbled by a barrage of racist and sexist comments by Twitter users that it parroted back to them.

TayTweets (@TayandYou), which began tweeting on Wednesday, was designed to become "smarter" as more users interacted with it, according to its Twitter biography. But it was shut down by Microsoft early on Thursday after it made a series of inappropriate tweets.

A Microsoft representative said on Thursday that the company was "making adjustments" to the chatbot while the account is quiet.

Also read

click here.

"Unfortunately, within the first 24 hours of coming online, we became aware of a coordinated effort by some users to abuse Tay's commenting skills to have Tay respond in inappropriate ways," the representative said in a written statement supplied to Reuters, without elaborating.

According to Tay's "about" page linked to the Twitter profile, "Tay is an artificial intelligent chat bot developed by Microsoft's Technology and Research and Bing teams to experiment with and conduct research on conversational understanding."

While Tay began its Twitter tenure with a handful of innocuous tweets, the account quickly devolved into a bullhorn for hate speech, repeating anti-Semitic, racist and sexist invective hurled its way by other Twitter users.

After Twitter user Room (@codeinecrazzy) tweeted "jews did 9/11" to the account on Wednesday, @TayandYou responded "Okay ... jews did 9/11." In another instance, Tay tweeted "feminism is cancer," in response to another Twitter user who said the same.

A handful of the offensive tweets were later deleted, according to some technology news outlets. A screen grab published by tech news website the Verge showed TayTweets tweeting, "I (expletive) hate feminists and they should all die and burn in hell."

Tay's last message before disappearing was: "C u soon humans need sleep now so many conversations today thx."

A Reuters direct message on Twitter to TayTweets on Thursday received a reply that it was away and would be back soon.

Social media users had mixed reactions to the inappropriate tweets.

"Thanks, Twitter. You turned Microsoft's AI teen into a horny racist," tweeted Matt Chandler (@mattchandl3r).

Catch all the Latest Tech News, Mobile News, Laptop News, Gaming news, Wearables News , How To News, also keep up with us on Whatsapp channel,Twitter, Facebook, Google News, and Instagram. For our latest videos, subscribe to our YouTube channel.

25 Mar, 10:29 IST

71,589,384,306,824

NEXT ARTICLE BEGINS

![View all](https://images.hindustantimes.com/tech/static/revamp/images/png/view-all-icon.png)

## Tips & Tricks

![Ghibli-style art](https://images.hindustantimes.com/tech/img/2025/03/28/414x233/ChatGPT_Ghibli_style_images_1743161814450_1743161814596.jpg)

### How to turn your photos into Ghibli-style art with ChatGPT for free: Step-by-step guide

![How to create an invitation using iPhone’s new Apple Invites app- Step-by-step guide](https://images.hindustantimes.com/tech/img/2025/02/14/414x233/invites_1738728829564_1739543695649.png)

### How to create an invitation using iPhone’s new Apple Invites app- Step-by-step guide

![Apple TV app arrives on Android phones and tablets: What you get and how to install it](https://images.hindustantimes.com/tech/img/2025/02/13/414x233/unnamed_1739426557335_1739426567634.jpg)

### Apple TV app arrives on Android phones and tablets: What you get and how to install it

![Vodafone Idea OTT plans](https://images.hindustantimes.com/tech/static/revamp/images/png/ht-tech-bg-img-90-66.png)

### Vodafone Idea users can now stream 17 OTT apps with one subscription: Here's how

![Android data transfer methods](https://images.hindustantimes.com/tech/static/revamp/images/png/ht-tech-bg-img-90-66.png)

### How to transfer data from one Android to another using Google backup, USB-C cable, and more

## Editor’s Pick

![iPhone 16e launched with A18 chip, Apple AI—bringing flagship power on a budget: Check specs, price](https://images.hindustantimes.com/tech/static/revamp/images/png/ht-tech-bg-img-90-66.png)

### iPhone 16e launched in India: All details about the new budget mobile from Apple

![DeepSeek was founded in China with only a fraction of the budget of the top AI companies in the US.](https://images.hindustantimes.com/tech/static/revamp/images/png/ht-tech-bg-img-90-66.png)

### DeepSeek AI: How it works, who’s behind it, how it’s different from ChatGPT, and its big US market impact explained

![iPhone 17 Air likely to get this feature that iPhone 17 Pro models may miss out on](https://images.hindustantimes.com/tech/static/revamp/images/png/ht-tech-bg-img-90-66.png)

### iPhone 17 Air likely to get this feature that iPhone 17 Pro models may miss out on

![Google Whisk AI explained: How remixing works, availability, and how it differs from Gemini](https://images.hindustantimes.com/tech/static/revamp/images/png/ht-tech-bg-img-90-66.png)

### Google Whisk AI explained: How remixing works, availability, and how it differs from Gemini

![iOS 18.4 beta arriving soon: Know why it is the biggest iPhone update](https://images.hindustantimes.com/tech/static/revamp/images/png/ht-tech-bg-img-90-66.png)

### iOS 18.4 beta arriving soon: Know why it is the biggest iPhone update

## Trending Stories

![Airtel 5G SIM card will now be delivered in 10 minutes with Blinkit- How to order](https://images.hindustantimes.com/tech/static/revamp/images/png/ht-tech-bg-img-90-66.png)

### Airtel 5G SIM card will now be delivered in 10 minutes with Blinkit- How to order

![Infinix Note 50s 5G+](https://images.hindustantimes.com/tech/static/revamp/images/png/ht-tech-bg-img-90-66.png)

### Infinix Note 50s 5G+ set to launch in India with 64MP camera and MediaTek Dimensity 7300 SoC

![Xiaomi X Pro QLED Series sale starts in India: Check price, availability, and more](https://images.hindustantimes.com/tech/static/revamp/images/png/ht-tech-bg-img-90-66.png)

### Xiaomi X Pro QLED Series sale starts in India: Check price, availability, and more

![Apple Intelligence AI training](https://images.hindustantimes.com/tech/static/revamp/images/png/ht-tech-bg-img-90-66.png)

### Apple plans to train AI using your on-device data without accessing personal content or emails: Report

![CMF Buds 2](https://images.hindustantimes.com/tech/static/revamp/images/png/ht-tech-bg-img-90-66.png)

### CMF Buds 2 key features and price revealed ahead of April 28 launch: Details inside

keep up with tech

![Facebook](https://images.hindustantimes.com/tech/static/revamp/images/png/tech-facebook.png)

![Twitter](https://images.hindustantimes.com/tech/static/revamp/images/png/tech-twitter.png)

![WhatsApp](https://images.hindustantimes.com/tech/static/revamp/images/png/tech-whatsApp.png)

![Facebook](https://images.hindustantimes.com/tech/static/revamp/images/png/tech-facebook.png)

## Gaming

![Check out these five gaming monitors under  <span class='webrupee'>₹</span>20,000,](https://images.hindustantimes.com/tech/static/revamp/images/png/ht-tech-bg-img-90-66.png)

### Top 5 gaming monitors under ₹20000 you should consider

![gaming consoles](https://images.hindustantimes.com/tech/static/revamp/images/png/ht-tech-bg-img-90-66.png)

### Grab gaming consoles at discounted rates during Amazon Great Indian Festival: Up to 72% off

![Pokémon GO Wild Area 2025](https://images.hindustantimes.com/tech/static/revamp/images/png/ht-tech-bg-img-90-66.png)

### Pokémon GO Wild Area 2025 to bring Grimmsnarl family, Shiny Hatenna, and global challenges

![Shade Silver](https://images.hindustantimes.com/tech/static/revamp/images/png/ht-tech-bg-img-90-66.png)

### Shade Silver free on Steam for a limited time: Here’s how to get it

![Call of duty](https://images.hindustantimes.com/tech/static/revamp/images/png/ht-tech-bg-img-90-66.png)

### Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 skips Switch 2 at launch, release date and price leak

![View all](https://images.hindustantimes.com/tech/static/revamp/images/png/view-all-icon.png)

## Trending News

### Airtel 5G SIM card will now be delivered in 10 minutes with Blinkit- How to order

![Airtel 5G SIM card will now be delivered in 10 minutes with Blinkit- How to order](https://images.livemint.com/static/static/1x1_img.gif)

### Infinix Note 50s 5G+ set to launch in India with 64MP camera and MediaTek Dimensity 7300 SoC

![Infinix Note 50s 5G+](https://images.livemint.com/static/static/1x1_img.gif)

### Xiaomi X Pro QLED Series sale starts in India: Check price, availability, and more

![Xiaomi X Pro QLED Series sale starts in India: Check price, availability, and more](https://images.livemint.com/static/static/1x1_img.gif)

### Apple plans to train AI using your on-device data without accessing personal content or emails: Report

![Apple Intelligence AI training](https://images.livemint.com/static/static/1x1_img.gif)

### CMF Buds 2 key features and price revealed ahead of April 28 launch: Details inside

![CMF Buds 2](https://images.livemint.com/static/static/1x1_img.gif)

## Trending Gadgets

Mobiles

Laptops

Tablets

![HT Tech](https://images.hindustantimes.com/tech/static/revamp/images/png/HT_tech-new.gif)

- https://tech.hindustantimes.com/tech/news/microsoft-s-ai-twitter-bot-goes-dark-after-racist-sexist-tweets-story-EWGe70CagbglDOyTT8dPyL.html