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
159 incidents
Citation Errors in Concord Music v. Anthropic Attributed to Claude AI Use by Defense Counsel
In a legal filing in Universal Music Group et al. v. Anthropic, lawyers for Anthropic acknowledged that expert witness testimony submitted in the case contained erroneous citations generated by the company's Claude AI system. The filing stated that the inaccuracies, which included incorrect article titles and author names, were not caught during manual review. Anthropic characterized the issue as an honest mistake and apologized in court.
Second Consecutive Year of Alleged AI-Generated Images Depicting Katy Perry at Met Gala Circulating Online
Images widely reported to be AI-generated appeared to depict Katy Perry attending the Met Gala and circulated broadly online, which appeared to prompt confusion among some fans. Perry later clarified via Instagram that she had not attended the event. While no malicious actor or harm has been confirmed, this marks the second consecutive year such images have gone viral
Meta AI Reportedly Generated Purportedly False Claims Linking Activist Robby Starbuck to January 6th Riot, Prompting Defamation Lawsuit
Conservative activist Robby Starbuck reportedly filed a defamation lawsuit against Meta, alleging its Meta AI chatbot published false statements claiming he participated in the Jan. 6 Capitol riot, was arrested, denied the Holocaust, and was unfit to parent. Filed April 28, 2025, in Delaware Superior Court, the suit seeks compensatory and punitive damages, citing reputational and safety harms. Meta reportedly stated it had updated its AI models to reduce inaccuracies.
Fact-Checkers Identify Viral Photo of Burkina Faso's Ibrahim Traoré with 'Wife and Children' as AI-Generated Composite
A manipulated image allegedly showing Burkina Faso junta leader Ibrahim Traoré with a wife and three children circulated widely on social media. Investigations by GhanaFact and others concluded the image was altered using AI tools, merging Traoré's likeness from a 2023 Russia-Africa summit photo with fabricated figures. The harm stems from the spread of false personal information about a political figure, potentially shaping public perception through synthetic, misleading media.
Alleged AI-Generated Photo of Burning Truck in Manila Reportedly Triggered Firefighter Response
Firefighters in Manila reportedly responded to a supposed burning truck after being alerted with a photo later determined to have purportedly been AI-generated. Four fire trucks, including units from the Bureau of Fire Protection, reportedly arrived on the scene but found the vehicle intact. The false alert allegedly wasted emergency resources.
Anysphere AI Support Bot for Cursor Reportedly Invents Login Policy, Leading to Subscription Cancellations
In April 2025, users of Cursor, an AI-powered coding assistant developed by Anysphere, reported being logged out unexpectedly. An AI-powered support bot, "Sam," allegedly responded with an invented login policy to justify the behavior. The hallucinated policy was not based on any real company change. The incident reportedly led to subscription cancellations.
Springer Nature Book 'Mastering Machine Learning: From Basics to Advanced' Reportedly Published With Numerous Purportedly Nonexistent or Incorrect Citations
"Mastering Machine Learning: From Basics to Advanced," published by Springer Nature in April 2025, reportedly contained numerous purportedly nonexistent or materially incorrect academic citations. Independent checks allegedly found that many referenced works did not exist or were misattributed, with multiple named researchers reportedly confirming they did not author the cited material. The pattern of errors has been described as consistent with known LLM citation hallucinations.
Reported Emergence of 'Vegetative Electron Microscopy' in Scientific Papers Traced to Purported AI Training Data Contamination
Researchers reportedly traced the appearance of the nonsensical phrase "vegetative electron microscopy" in scientific papers to contamination in AI training data. Testing indicated that large language models such as GPT-3, GPT-4, and Claude 3.5 may reproduce the term. The error allegedly originated from a digitization mistake that merged unrelated words during scanning, and a later translation error between Farsi and English.
Reported AI-Generated Video Purportedly Depicting Keanu Reeves Debating Elon Musk Circulates as Misinformation on Social Media
In April 2025, a video circulated online reportedly depicting a televised debate between Keanu Reeves and Elon Musk about AI. The video, posted by the YouTube channel Voices of Change, purportedly used AI-generated voice and visual content to simulate the event. Independent analysis found signs of deepfake audio and imagery, and no credible evidence supported the event's existence.
Reportedly AI-Generated Image Circulates Amid Reports of Tanzania Revenue Authority Job Interviews
An image circulated on Facebook purporting to show hundreds of Tanzanians lining up for just five jobs at the Tanzania Revenue Authority (TRA). The photo, reportedly AI-generated, gained traction shortly after TRA invited over 100,000 applicants for interviews on March 29–30. Though TRA had announced more than 1,500 openings, the image misrepresented the situation, stoking public anxiety during a period of high unemployment.
AI-Driven News Platform Accused of Spreading Unverified Terrorism Allegations Against Yale Scholar
An AI-powered news site, Jewish Onliner, allegedly published an article linking Yale Law scholar Helyeh Doutaghi to Samidoun, a sanctioned group, which led to her suspension within days. The site, which claims to use AI for research, fact-checking, and content creation, did not disclose human reporters. Doutaghi denied the allegations and described the move as an attack on academic freedom.
Video Reportedly Created with AI Appears to Show Trump Backing Biafra Secession
In February 2025, a video circulated on Facebook that appeared to show U.S. President Donald Trump expressing support for Biafran independence and calling for the release of Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) leader Nnamdi Kanu. However, fact-checkers reportedly traced the visuals to a 2021 BBC video unrelated to Biafra; they noted signs of AI manipulation. The altered clip reportedly used tools such as ElonTalks to generate synthetic audio and video from a user-submitted script.
Purported AI-Generated Audio Was Reportedly Used to Claim Recep Tayyip Erdoğan Expressed Support for Imran Khan in Pakistani Parliament
A reported viral video that was circulated in Pakistan featured purported AI-generated audio depicting Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan expressing support for jailed former Prime Minister Imran Khan during his 2025 visit. The video is described as having reused footage from 2020 and featured AI-generated audio that fabricated remarks Erdoğan never made. The synthetic voice was reportedly confirmed by forensic tools and audio analysis.
NHK Terminates AI Translation Service After Geopolitical Naming Error
NHK announced the termination of its AI-powered multilingual subtitle service after an automatic translation error rendered "Senkaku Islands" as "Diaoyu Islands," the Chinese designation. The mistake, discovered on February 10th, 2025 during a news segment, led NHK to deem the service inappropriate. The AI-based subtitles, powered by Google Translate, had been in use since 2020.
Plaintiffs' Lawyers Admit AI Generated Erroneous Case Citations in Federal Court Filing Against Walmart
Lawyers Rudwin Ayala, T. Michael Morgan (Morgan & Morgan), and Taly Goody (Goody Law Group) were fined a total of $5,000 after their Wyoming federal lawsuit filing against Walmart cited fake cases "hallucinated" by AI. Judge Kelly Rankin sanctioned them, removing Ayala from the case and noting attorneys must verify AI sources. The filing, flagged by Walmart’s legal team, led to its withdrawal and an internal review.