Is there a term/phrase for a vicious cycle of overcorrection?
When something starts going wrong, then when you try to correct, you overcorrect and make things worse, then you try to correct it again, and again overcorrect, making things worse again, etc, until eventually failure happens.
For example, if I'm driving in the rain and I start to skid to the left, so I cut the wheel to the right, and the car starts moving back toward center (where it should be) but goes past center and starts skidding even worse to the right, so I try to correct it again and it goes past center and back to the left, and eventually I spin out or hit a tree.
Strictly speaking, I was doing the right thing (well maybe this is a bad example because there might be a better way to handle a skid but hopefully you can tell what I mean), but I did too much of the right thing and made the problem greater in magnitude but opposite in direction, which raises the potential for the next iteration of overcorrection.
Can be noun, verb, phrase, whatever.
A figurative meaning of 'spiral' is '...a progressive movement in one direction ... marking a relentlessly deteriorating state of affairs; especially one caused by the interaction or alternate overtaking of interdependent quantities.'(OED)
So, you could say that 'a vicious cycle of overcorrection' might be described as spiralling out of control.
How about iatrogenic, iatrogenesis.
Iatrogenesis (from the Greek for "brought forth by the healer") refers to any effect on a person, resulting from any activity of one or more persons acting as healthcare professionals or promoting products or services as beneficial to health, that does not support a goal of the person affected.
That is 'tampering' with something, like Man's tampering with Nature
Merriam-Webster's definition of the verb 'to tamper':
to carry on underhand or improper negotiations (as by bribery)
a. to interfere so as to weaken or change for the worse —used with with 'did not want to tamper with tradition'
b. to try foolish or dangerous experiments —used with with
to render something harmful or dangerous by altering its structure or composition 'was charged with tampering with consumer products'
Merriam-Webster's definition of 'tamper'
Two wrongs don't make a right!
Playing the Sorcerer's apprentice
It does not (yet) exist, but the portmanteau word 'an improverishment' might fit the bill!
Your question says: 'can be noun, verb, phrase, whatever'… I am very fond of whatever!
engineer here
overcorrection - when too much corrective force is applied in a closed loop system, and the system returns through the set point and continues on. example, trying to thread a needle, and your hand wavers back and forth.
oscillation - a system that goes through a repeated cycle. Any system with negative feedback, a time delay, and inertia will oscillate unless steps are taken to damp it. If the gain of the circuit is > 1, it will oscillate forever. (technical types, I'm threading a path between clarity and accuracy here).
Oscillation can be a good thing or a bad thing. If you're making a radio transmitter you need oscillation. If you're trying to steer a car it's bad.
engineers would tend to call this 'divergent oscillation' (it's getting worse), 'wild oscillation', 'large oscillations', or 'uncontrolled oscillation'.