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
368 incidents
Purported Synthesia Avatars Used in Alleged Pro-Junta Deepfake Video Supporting Ibrahim Traoré in Burkina Faso
In January 2023, purportedly AI-generated videos reportedly began circulating on WhatsApp and social media showing avatars of apparent American pan-Africanists expressing support for Burkina Faso's military junta. The videos were reportedly created using the Synthesia platform. Synthesia later confirmed the videos violated its terms of service and banned the user. The source of the videos remains unidentified.
ChatGPT-Written Bug Reports Deemed "Nonsense" by White Hat Platform, Prompted Bans
ChatGPT-generated responses submitted to smart contract bug bounty platform Immunefi reportedly lacked details to help diagnose technical issues, which reportedly wasted the platform's time, prompting bans to submitters.
Canadian Parents Tricked out of Thousands Using Their Son's AI Voice
Two Canadian residents were scammed by an anonymous caller who used AI voice synthesis to replicate their son's voice asking them for legal fees, disguising as his lawyer.
ChatGPT Abused to Develop Malicious Softwares
OpenAI's ChatGPT was reportedly abused by cyber criminals including ones with no or low levels of coding or development skills to develop malware, ransomware, and other malicious softwares.
AI Video-Making Tool Abused to Deploy Pro-China News on Social Media
Synthesia's AI-generated video-making tool was reportedly used by Spamouflage to disseminate pro-China propaganda news on social media using videos featuring highly realistic fictitious news anchors.
Chinese Accounts Spammed Twitter Feed Allegedly to Obscure News of Protests
Twitter Feed was flooded by content from Chinese-language accounts which allegedly aimed to manipulate and reduce social media coverage about widespread protests against coronavirus restrictions in China.
Deepfake of FTX's Former CEO Posted on Twitter Aiming to Scam FTX Collapse Victims
A visual and audio deepfake of former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried was posted on Twitter to scam victims of the exchange's collapse by urging people to transfer funds into an anonymous cryptocurrency wallet.
Students Reportedly Used Generative Text Tools to Complete School Assignments and Exams
Students in school and university settings reportedly used generative text tools including Sudowrite, GPT-3/OpenAI Playground, and ChatGPT to complete homework, essays, and exams without disclosure. Reporting described admitted student use and growing concern among educators that these tools undermined academic integrity, disadvantaged non-using students, and disrupted assessment practices.
Stable Diffusion Abused by 4chan Users to Deepfake Celebrity Porn
Stable Diffusion, an open-source image generation model by Stability AI, was reportedly leaked on 4chan prior to its release date, and was used by its users to generate pornographic deepfakes of celebrities.
Deepfakes Reportedly Deployed in Online Interviews for Remote Work Positions
Voice and video deepfakes were reported by FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) in complaint reports to have been deployed during online interviews of the candidates for remote-work positions.
Yahoo Boys Allegedly Employ Real-Time Deepfake Technology in Romance Scams
Scammers from Nigeria, known as "Yahoo Boys," are reportedly utilizing real-time deepfake technology to impersonate individuals during video calls, deceiving victims in romance scams. By allegedly altering their appearance with face-swapping software, they build trust under false identities to defraud targets of substantial sums.
Robbers Accessed Drugged Gay Men's Bank Accounts Using Their Phones' Facial Recognition
Gay men in New York City were drugged by robbers who accessed their phones using facial recognition while they were unconscious to transfer funds out of their bank accounts.
Fake LinkedIn Profiles Created Using GAN Photos
More than a thousand inauthentic LinkedIn profiles using allegedly GAN-generated photos were notified by researchers at Stanford to LinkedIn’s staff, and many of which were removed for violating rules against creating fake profiles and falsifying information.
AI-Generated Profiles Used in Disinformation Campaign Targeting Ukrainians
According to security reports by Meta, fictitious personas with GAN-generated profile pictures were used by people operating in Russia and Ukraine to push a disinformation campaign targeting Ukrainian social media users, and were taken down.
'Pravda' Network, Successor to 'Portal Kombat,' Allegedly Seeding AI Models with Kremlin Disinformation
A purported Moscow-based disinformation network, Pravda, allegedly infiltrated AI models by flooding the internet with pro-Kremlin falsehoods. A NewsGuard audit found that 10 major AI chatbots repeated these narratives 33% of the time, citing Pravda sources as legitimate. The tactic, called "LLM grooming," manipulates AI training data to embed Russian propaganda. Pravda is part of Portal Kombat, a larger Russian disinformation network identified by VIGINUM in February 2024, but in operation since February 2022.