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
196 incidents
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.
$31,000 Sanction in Lacey v. State Farm Tied to Purportedly Undisclosed Use of LLMs and Erroneous Citations
In the case of Lacey v. State Farm, two law firms were sanctioned $31,000 after submitting a legal brief containing reportedly erroneous citations generated using AI tools. The court reportedly found that the lawyers failed to disclose the use of AI, neglected to verify its output, and refiled a revised brief with additional inaccuracies. Judge Michael Wilner deemed the conduct reckless and issued sanctions for what he described as "improper" and "misleading" legal filings.
Norwegian Supreme Court Receives Legal Filing with Fabricated Citations Allegedly Generated by AI Tool
In early 2025, Norway’s Supreme Court (Høyesterett) received a legal filing containing hallucinated legal citations and quotes, allegedly inserted by an attorney using an AI tool without verification. The fabricated sources were detected during standard review. While no sanctions were issued, the Court updated its guidance to lawyers, warning that AI use does not exempt them from professional responsibility.
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.
Misleading Deepfake Video of Trump Mocking Zelenskyy for Clothing Goes Viral on Facebook
In March 2025, an AI-generated deepfake video of Donald Trump criticizing Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy for his clothing circulated widely on Facebook. In the video, Trump mocks Zelenskyy by calling him "Temu Zelenskyy." The video was created by a parody YouTube channel using AI voice and face synthesis tools, but it was reportedly mistaken by some viewers as real.
AI-Generated OB-GYN Health Influencers on TikTok Used Fake Medical Credentials to Promote Dubious Advice
AI-generated avatars posing as OB-GYNs on TikTok, part of the so-called, crudely termed "Coochie Doctor" trend, have been falsely claiming years of experience while promoting dubious health advice. Many, including an avatar named "Violet," were created using the Captions app, which generates scripted AI influencers.
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.
Kenya's Foreign Affairs Principal Secretary Korir Sing'Oei Reportedly Shared AI-Generated Video Depicting Fareed Zakaria Praising Sudan Diplomacy
Kenya's Foreign Affairs Principal Secretary (PS) Dr. Korir Sing’Oei shared a purportedly AI-generated deepfake video that allegedly depicted CNN journalist Fareed Zakaria praising Kenya's peace diplomacy in Sudan. After reported backlash from the public and journalists on X (Twitter), Sing'Oei deleted the video, but there were reportedly concerns that Kenya's diplomatic credibility was undermined.
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* Oct 2026, ~320 projected full year
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