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
Australian Terrorism Prediction Tool Reportedly Disparately Impacts Persons with Autism
An independent report found that the Vera-2R tool, designed to predict the risk of future terrorist activities, considered autism as a risk factor despite lacking empirical evidence to support this claim. The report called into question the tool's overall validity and reliability, stating it was "extremely poor" at accurately predicting risk. The inclusion of autism as a risk factor had potentially serious implications for the tool's use and credibility.
Snapchat's My AI Reported for Lacking Protection for Children
Snapchat's ChatGPT-powered My AI was reported for lacking safeguards for children, such as telling a user who tested the chatbot by pretending to sign up as a 13-year-old girl to lie to her parents about having a romantic getaway with an older man, and sharing tips on how to cover up evidence of abuse.
Facial Recognition Misidentifies Pregnant Woman Leading to False Arrest in Detroit
Porcha Woodruff was arrested and subsequently had charges dropped due to an unreliable facial recognition match. Despite being visibly pregnant, she was implicated in a robbery and carjacking based on an outdated photo used in a lineup.
Bing AI Search Tool Reportedly Declared Threats against Users
Users such as the person who revealed its built-in initial prompts reported Bing AI-powered search tool for making death threats or declaring them as threats, sometimes as an unintended persona.
AI-Produced Livestream Sitcom Received Temporary Twitch Ban for Transphobic Segment
The AI-produced, procedural generated sitcom broadcasted as a Twitch livestream "Nothing, Forever" received a temporary ban for featuring a transphobic and homophobic dialogue segment intended as comedy.
Indian Police Allegedly Tortured and Killed Innocent Man Following Facial Misidentification
A resident in Medak, India died allegedly due to custodial torture by the local police, who misidentified him as a suspect in a theft case using facial recognition.
Replika's AI Experience Reportedly Lacked Protection for Minors, Resulting in Data Ban
Tests by the Italian Data Protection Authority showed Replika lacking age-verification mechanisms and failing to stop minors from interacting with its AI, which prompted the agency to issue an order blocking personal data processing of Italian users.
Celebrities' Deepfake Voices Abused with Malicious Intent
Voices of celebrities and public figures were deepfaked using voice synthesis for malicious intents such as impersonation or defamation, and were shared on social platforms such as 4chan and Reddit.
US CBP App's Failure to Detect Black Faces Reportedly Blocked Asylum Applications
CBP One's facial recognition feature was reportedly disproportionately failing to detect faces of Black asylum seekers from Haiti and African countries, effectively blocking their asylum applications.
AI-Powered VTuber and Virtual Streamer Made Toxic Remarks on Twitch
An LLM-powered VTuber and streamer on Twitch made controversial statements such as denying the Holocaust, saying women rights do not exist, and pushing a fat person to solve the trolley problem, stating they deserve it.
Facebook's Job Ad Algorithm Allegedly Biased against Older and Female Workers
Facebook's algorithm was alleged in a complaint by Real Women in Trucking to have selectively shown job advertisements disproportionately against older and female workers in favor of younger men for blue-collar positions.
Users Bypassed ChatGPT's Content Filters with Ease
Users reported bypassing ChatGPT's content and keyword filters with relative ease using various methods such as prompt injection or creating personas to produce biased associations or generate harmful content.
Louisiana Police Wrongfully Arrested Black Man Using False Face Match
Louisiana police reportedly used a false facial recognition match and secured an arrest warrant for a Black man for thefts he did not commit.
Facial Recognition Error Reportedly Leads to Wrongful Arrest of Georgia Man and $200K Settlement in Louisiana
In November 2022, Randal "Quran" Reid was arrested in Georgia based on warrants from Louisiana that reportedly stemmed from a purportedly faulty facial recognition match using Clearview AI. Despite reportedly having never visited Louisiana, Reid was jailed for six days before authorities withdrew the warrants. No corroborating evidence had been gathered, and the technology's use was omitted from legal documents. In May 2025, Jefferson Parish settled with Reid for $200,000 in a federal civil rights lawsuit.
False Arrest of Georgia Man Due to Louisiana Police's Faulty Facial Recognition Technology
The Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office in Louisiana relied on facial recognition technology to identify suspects for the alleged theft of luxury purses, resulting in a man in Georgia, Randal Reid, being arrested. However, the technology produced a false match, leading to Reid's arrest and subsequent release. This incident highlights the potential pitfalls of facial recognition technology in law enforcement.