Phone case design bot goes rogue

A bot that designed iPhone cases printed with random stock photographs for sale on Amazon appeared to malfunction, offering thousands of tacky and inappropriate designs.

Based on popular image searches, the bot appearred to malnfuntion, creating 31,000 phone cases, many of which were unsuitable for sale.

Per The Guardian, these included an iPhone 6 case with a picture of 'Male hands with soap dispenser use in the restroom', another featuring an 'Irrigation pipe in dirt trenches for sprinkler system' and ... one illustrated with an 'adult diaper worn by an old man with a crutch'.

It is unclear why the bot's algorithm went awry, though commentators figured it may have been due to a lack of oversight or proper filtering mechanisms. It appears the bot had been programmed to scrape images from the internet without adequate checks on the appropriateness or relevance of the content.

It also remains unclear who created the bot and Amazon account. Not did the creator advise potential buyers that the designs were generated using artificial intelligence.