KBS AI Subtitle Error Broadcasts Profanity During Artemis II Launch
During KBS's live broadcast of NASA's Artemis II launch on 2 April 2026, the network's AI-powered real-time translation system misidentified English aviation technical terms as profanity, exposing obscene subtitles to viewers. KBS apologized immediately and pledged to strengthen profanity filtering in its AI translation systems.
What happened
On 2 April 2026, KBS broadcast a live translation of NASA's Artemis II launch using AI-powered automatic subtitles. The AI incorrectly translated the aviation technical terms 'Roger,' 'roll,' and 'pitch'βwhich refer to communication confirmation and aircraft attitude adjustmentsβas 'Roger,' 'roll,' and profanity due to phonetic similarity, particularly misidentifying 'pitch' (the aircraft maneuver) as resembling a vulgar term.
Reported impact
The profane subtitles were broadcast to viewers on KBS's YouTube live stream. The incident spread rapidly online, with viewers criticizing the public broadcaster for allowing such content to air during a family-friendly space launch event.
Index analysis
The failure occurred in the AI translation system's ability to distinguish between similar-sounding words in English aviation terminology and words phonetically resembling profanity. The system lacked safeguards to prevent such misidentifications from reaching the broadcast output.
Governance controls
KBS issued a public apology on 2 April, stating it had immediately blocked the erroneous subtitles upon discovery. The broadcaster committed to strengthening AI profanity filtering and coordinating with relevant departments and partner companies to prevent recurrence.
Classification
Sources and evidence
This record was researched and written by the Index, based on the following original reporting.