Crisis Mode Recovery Pattern

This pattern provides emergency fixes for when AI systems are actively failing users and require immediate intervention.

🧭 Domain: Recovery ⏱️ Effort: 5-minute fix

Problem

When AI systems fail catastrophically — giving harmful advice, stuck in loops, or trapping users — teams need immediate emergency fixes to prevent damage and restore user control.

Solution

Implement emergency stop mechanisms, automatic fallbacks, and incident response systems that activate when AI systems pose immediate risk to users.

Implementation Example

Pseudocode: Framework-agnostic code showing the core logic and approach. Adapt the syntax and methods to your specific technology stack.

// Pseudocode:
// Emergency stop system with automatic detection and fallback
class EmergencySystem {
  constructor() {
    this.isEmergencyMode = false;
    this.failureCount = 0;
    this.maxFailures = 3;
  }

  // Immediate manual override
  emergencyStop() {
    this.isEmergencyMode = true;
    this.disableAllAI();
    this.showEmergencyUI();
    this.notifyIncidentTeam();
  }

  // Automatic failure detection
  detectCrisis(aiResponse, userFeedback) {
    if (this.isHarmfulContent(aiResponse) || 
        this.isStuckInLoop() || 
        this.hasRepeatedFailures()) {
      this.emergencyStop();
    }
  }

  // Safe fallback system
  disableAllAI() {
    aiProcessing.stop();
    showManualAlternatives();
    redirectToSafeMode();
  }
}

🧠 What this does: Immediately stops harmful AI behavior and switches to safe manual alternatives when systems are actively failing users.

Try this:

•Add global "Emergency Stop" button that kills all AI processes
•Implement automatic failure detection (3+ errors = emergency mode)
•Create manual alternatives for every AI-powered feature
•Set up real-time incident alerts for emergency situations
•Display clear "Safe Mode" UI when crisis mode is active

Testing Checklist

  • □Emergency stop halts all AI processes within 2 seconds
  • □Manual alternatives work when AI systems are disabled
  • □Incident alerts reach on-call team immediately
  • □Safe mode UI clearly explains what happened
  • □System can recover gracefully after crisis resolution

Related Patterns

User Control Recovery Pattern

This pattern gives users control over AI suggestions, recommendations, and automated actions.

View Pattern→

Delegation Recovery Pattern

This pattern allows users to transfer AI tasks to human support when needed.

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Exit Recovery Pattern

This pattern ensures users can easily stop, cancel, or exit AI interactions at any point.

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Error Recovery Pattern

This pattern lets users correct AI errors, undo actions, or fix missteps.

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