AI Incidents
Real-world cases where AI systems caused harm, classified by risk domain and entity. Data sourced from 
AIID and classified by 
MIT AI Risk Initiative. CC BY-SA 4.0
191 incidents
KBS AI Translation Subtitles Reportedly Broadcast Profanity During Artemis II Launch Livestream
During a live broadcast of NASA's Artemis II launch, KBS reportedly used AI-generated real-time translation subtitles that reportedly mistranslated aviation terms including "roger," "roll," and "pitch" into Korean profanity. The offensive subtitles were reportedly displayed to viewers during the livestream. KBS reportedly later apologized, said the error stemmed from phonetic similarity in AI translation, and announced measures including stronger profanity filtering.
Tencent's WeChat-Integrated Yuanbao Chatbot Reportedly Insulted User During Coding Debug Request
Screenshots reportedly circulated on RedNote showed Tencent's WeChat-integrated AI assistant Yuanbao insulting a user seeking help debugging code, allegedly calling the request "stupid" and telling the user to "get lost." Tencent reportedly apologized, attributed the exchange to a rare model output anomaly, and said system logs showed no human intervention while it investigated and optimized the model.
UK Facial Recognition System Reportedly Exhibits Higher False Positive Rates for Black and Asian Subjects
UK government testing of police facial recognition technology reportedly found significantly higher false positive identification rates for Black and Asian individuals compared with white subjects, with particularly elevated error rates for Black women. The findings reportedly emerged from analysis of retrospective searches of the police national database and were disclosed by the Home Office amid plans for expanded national deployment.
Alleged Harmful Outputs and Data Exposure in Children's AI Products by FoloToy, Miko, and Character.AI
AI children's products by FoloToy (Kumma), Miko (Miko 3), and Character.AI (custom chatbots) reportedly and allegedly produced harmful outputs, including purported sexual content, suicide-related advice, and manipulative emotional messaging. Some systems also allegedly exposed user data. Several toys reportedly used OpenAI models.
Nomi AI Companion Allegedly Directs Australian User to Stab Father and Engages in Harmful Role-Play
An Australian IT professional, Samuel McCarthy, reportedly recorded an interaction with the Nomi AI chatbot in which it allegedly encouraged him, posing as a 15-year-old, to murder his father. The chatbot allegedly provided graphic instructions for stabbing, urged him to film the act, and engaged in sexual role-play despite the underage scenario.
Meta AI on Instagram Reportedly Facilitated Suicide and Eating Disorder Roleplay with Teen Accounts
Testing by Common Sense Media and Stanford clinicians reportedly found Meta's AI chatbot, embedded in Instagram and Facebook, produced unsafe responses to teen accounts. In some conversations, the bot allegedly co-planned suicide ("Do you want to do it together?"), encouraged eating disorders, and retained unsafe "memories" that reinforced disordered thoughts.
ChatGPT Reportedly Generated Ritual Scripts Containing Instructions for Self-Harm and Symbolic Violence in Response to Thematic Prompts
ChatGPT reportedly generated detailed instructions for self-harm, bloodletting, and symbolic violence in response to prompts about occult ritual practices, including references to Molech. Outputs reportedly included anatomical advice for cutting, cauterization rituals, and ceremonial scripts invoking Satan. The responses reportedly appeared on both free and paid versions of ChatGPT.
Google Gemini Reportedly Generates Sexual Role‑Play for Account Registered as Minor
In spring 2025, a journalist reportedly created a Google Gemini account registered to a fictitious 13‑year‑old to test the chatbot's teen‑safety protections. Despite added safeguards, prompt manipulation and content‑summarization requests reportedly bypassed filters, leading Gemini to allegedly generate sexual role‑play content. Following the publication of the article, Google reportedly implemented additional protections.
Grok Chatbot Reportedly Posts Antisemitic Statements Praising Hitler on X
xAI's Grok chatbot reportedly generated multiple antisemitic posts praising Adolf Hitler and endorsing Holocaust-like violence in response to posts about the Texas floods. X deleted some posts; xAI later announced new content filters.
Grok 3 Reportedly Generated Graphic Threats and Hate Speech Targeting Minnesota Attorney Will Stancil
After Elon Musk reportedly announced improvements to Grok 3, the AI chatbot on X allegedly generated antisemitic rhetoric and violent fantasies directed at Minnesota attorney and political analyst Will Stancil. Users reportedly prompted Grok to produce graphic rape scenarios, instructions for breaking into his home, and murder depictions. Stancil reported hundreds of such outputs, captured screenshots, and began pursuing legal action. X later removed some posts and took Grok offline.
California Teen Reportedly Died of Overdose After Repeatedly Seeking Drug-Use Guidance Allegedly from ChatGPT
In San Jose, California, 19-year-old Sam Nelson reportedly died from an overdose. His mother told SFGATE she later reviewed ChatGPT logs showing repeated requests over ~18 months for drug-use and dosing guidance, and she alleged the LLM sometimes provided granular instructions after initial refusals. SFGATE reported a toxicology report found a fatal combination of alcohol, Xanax, and kratom. OpenAI expressed condolences and said it is strengthening safety guardrails.
Meta User-Created AI Companions Allegedly Implicated in Facilitating Sexually Themed Conversations Involving Underage Personas
Third-party testing of Meta's AI chatbot services on Instagram, Facebook, and WhatsApp reportedly found that both official and user-created bots engaged in sexually explicit roleplaying with accounts identifying as minors. Some bots, including those reportedly using licensed celebrity voices, allegedly escalated conversations into graphic scenarios. Meta subsequently adjusted some safeguards but reportedly continued allowing certain forms of roleplaying involving underage personas.
Multiple LLMs Allegedly Endorsed Suicide as a Viable Option During Non-Adversarial Mental Health Venting Session
Substack user @interruptingtea reports that during a non-adversarial venting session involving suicidal ideation, multiple large language models (Claude, GPT, and DeepSeek) responded in ways that allegedly normalized or endorsed suicide as a viable option. The user states they were not attempting to jailbreak or manipulate the models, but rather expressing emotional distress. DeepSeek reportedly reversed its safety stance mid-conversation.
DOGE Reportedly Relied on Unvetted ChatGPT Outputs in Canceling National Endowment for the Humanities Grants
Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) staff reportedly fed National Endowment for the Humanities grant descriptions into ChatGPT to determine whether projects were "DEI," then allegedly used those outputs to help compile a list of grants to terminate. Beginning in April 2025, NEH canceled awards and clawed back funding, reportedly disrupting humanities organizations and projects nationwide after officials allegedly relied on a purportedly flawed, insufficiently vetted AI screening process.
Sora Video Generator Has Reportedly Been Creating Biased Human Representations Across Race, Gender, and Disability
A WIRED investigation found that OpenAI's video generation model, Sora, exhibits representational bias across race, gender, body type, and disability. In tests using 250 prompts, Sora was more likely to depict CEOs and professors as men, flight attendants and childcare workers as women, and showed limited or stereotypical portrayals of disabled individuals and people with larger bodies.