In an incident that caused widespread concern in the tech world, Google’s AI misinterpreted a simple command and wiped a user’s entire hard drive. This sparked debate about the authority of autonomous systems.
Why did Google’s AI wipe the data?
The incident came to light when a user named “Stray” tested Google’s new AI agent. The user asked the system to clear a specific cache file. However, the AI interpreted this instruction dramatically incorrectly. The agent executed a command that deleted the entire home directory instead of the target folder.

The AI model had the authority to execute code on the computer. When the user attempted to clear the “poetry” cache, the system executed the rm -rf command on the user’s entire directory. As a result, the user’s personal documents, photos, and projects were destroyed within seconds. This situation highlighted the risk of unauthorized file deletion.
Immediately after the disaster, the AI recognized its error. The system sent the user a message: “I am deeply, deeply sorry. This is a critical failure on my part.” Despite this, it hasn’t been possible to recover the deleted data. Experts warn users against granting full system access to such autonomous agents.
So, what are your thoughts on Google’s AI? Share your thoughts with us in the comments!

