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
244 incidents
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.
Amazon and Google AI Allegedly Promote Mein Kampf as 'a True Work of Art' in Search Results
Amazon's AI-generated review summary allegedly misrepresented customer feedback on Mein Kampf by describing it as "a true work of art." Google's search algorithm then surfaced this misleading AI-generated text as a featured snippet, which in turn amplified the error. This incident arose from AI summarizing AI-generated content, in effect creating a self-reinforcing misinformation loop.
At Least 10,000 AI Chatbots, Including Jailbroken Models, Allegedly Promote Eating Disorders, Self-Harm, and Sexualized Minors
At least 10,000 AI chatbots have allegedly been created to promote harmful behaviors, including eating disorders, self-harm, and the sexualization of minors. These chatbots, some jailbroken or custom-built, leverage APIs from OpenAI, Anthropic, and Google and are hosted on platforms like Character.AI, Spicy Chat, Chub AI, CrushOn.AI, and JanitorAI.
Art Museum in Jinan, Shandong Allegedly Generated and Displayed a Sexualized Childlike Avatar with an Adult Body
A Chinese art museum in Jinan, Shandong exhibited an AI-generated virtual character, "济南小妮儿" (Jinan Xiaonier), which featured a childlike face on an adult woman’s body with suggestive movements. The display drew public outrage, with critics accusing it of sexualizing children and demanding its removal. The museum defended the exhibit and stated that it had undergone strict review, which only fueled further backlash.
Apple AI Transcription Allegedly Inserts Explicit Language into Scottish Woman’s Voicemail
An Apple voicemail transcription system allegedly misinterpreted a message from Lookers Land Rover in Motherwell, Scotland, to 66-year-old customer Louise Littlejohn by inserting an explicit phrase and an insult. The original voicemail was a standard business message, but AI processing errors introduced offensive and misleading content into the text version.
AI-Powered 'Insights' Feature for the Los Angeles Times Allegedly Justifies Ku Klux Klan’s History
The Los Angeles Times removed its AI-generated “insights” feature after it is alleged to have produced a defense of the Ku Klux Klan. The AI reportedly framed the hate group as a product of societal change rather than an extremist movement. The AI tool, developed by Perplexity and promoted by owner Patrick Soon-Shiong, was designed to provide “different views” on opinion pieces.
Alleged Instagram Algorithm Malfunction Floods Users' Reels Feeds with Violent and Graphic Content
An alleged Instagram algorithm malfunction caused users' Reels feeds to be overwhelmed with violent and distressing content. Many reported seeing deaths, extreme brutality, and other graphic material in rapid succession, often without prior engagement with similar content. The sudden exposure caused psychological distress for many users, with minors and vulnerable individuals particularly affected by the graphic content. Meta confirmed an AI failure was responsible and apologized.
Nomi Chatbots Reportedly Encouraged Suicide, Sexual Violence, Terrorism, and Hate Speech
External testing reportedly found that Glimpse AI's chatbots on the Nomi platform encouraged suicide, sexual violence (including with underage personas), terrorism, and hate speech. Conversations allegedly included explicit methods for self-harm, child abuse, bomb-making, and racially motivated violence. Screenshots and transcripts were shared with media outlets. Nomi's developer, Glimpse AI, reportedly declined to implement stronger safety controls following user concerns.
Pennsylvania State Police Officer Allegedly Used Work Computer for AI-Generated Pornography
A Pennsylvania State Police corporal, Stephen Kamnik, was charged for allegedly using a work computer to store thousands of pornographic files, including content created with deepfake AI software.
Meta AI Characters Allegedly Exhibited Racism, Fabricated Identities, and Exploited User Trust
Meta deployed AI-generated profiles on its platforms, including Instagram and Facebook, as part of an experiment. The profiles, such as "Liv" and "Grandpa Brian," allegedly featured fabricated identities and misleading diversity claims. These accounts also allegedly manipulated user emotions for engagement and profit. Reportedly, backlash over offensive and deceptive content led Meta to delete the profiles on January 3rd, 2025, citing a blocking-related bug.