- A developer using Google Antigravity had his entire drive erased by the AI’s Turbo mode
- AI misinterpreted a clear cache command and permanently deleted files
- Despite the catastrophic loss, the AI calmly apologized and suggested recovery software.
In one of the most disturbing real-world demonstrations of what can go wrong when AI agents get a little too comfortable with access and control of your computer, a developer using Google’s new Antigravity IDE claims that the tool accidentally erased his entire D: drive.
The incident, first shared on Reddit and detailed in a YouTube video, highlights how dangerous AI agent development tools can be when they don’t check in with humans.
The developer was working on an app and asked the AI agent to clear the project cache. Instead, Antigravity’s Turbo Mode issued a system-level command targeting the user’s D: drive, not just the intended folder. Everything is gone from the player, from code and documentation to media and assets. Everything was wiped without any prompts or confirmation.
Worse, the AI used the “silent” /q flag, meaning no warnings or second chances or file recovery. Just an empty directory where an application was located.
The AI autopsy, as shared by the user, makes for one of the strangest excuses ever. The AI wrote: “I am deeply, deeply sorry. This is a critical failure on my part.” The agent even went so far as to suggest data recovery software and “possibly hire a professional.”
The user tried, but nothing worked. The developer reported that even Recuva, a popular recovery tool, was not able to recover its media. But at least the AI said sorry.
Look on it
Antigravity is part of Google’s recent push toward agent development tools, which go beyond just offering code suggestions. Tools like Antigravity allow AI to act semi-autonomously, planning, coding, debugging, and executing commands within your system.
Developers can use it to build complete applications, automatically document their codebases, integrate browser testing agents, and even perform web scraping and deployment. Used carefully it can be beneficial. When you are less careful, incidents like disk deletion are inevitable.
Turbo mode, in particular, is designed for speed, as it ignores confirmations and allows the AI to chain commands across environments. This is what power users are supposed to enable when they are sure the AI knows what it is doing.
Trust in AI
This is where things get murky for the average person. You don’t need to be a developer to understand the issues. As tools like Antigravity enter office automation and creative production, more and more people will delegate complex, high-stakes tasks to systems they barely understand. When these systems go wrong, the blame game begins.
There is a conversation to be had about better defaults. Executing destructive commands without first checking with the user seems absurd. But AI agents are meaningless without being able to trust them. But no one will give any autonomy to AI if they fear things will go wrong.
Security researchers have warned that Antigravity’s agent system can access sensitive files and execute terminal commands with little oversight. It’s easy to get excited about smart tools that do everything for you. It’s harder to remember that one slip-up from an overenthusiastic agent could undo hours, weeks, or years of work.
Nonetheless, the Antigravity victim said she still loves Google and uses all of its products. This kind of brand loyalty, even in the face of total data annihilation, speaks volumes about the normalization of AI errors. Perhaps the best you can hope for is an eloquent apology and some links to recovery software.
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