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
61 incidents
Illinois Residents File Class Action Lawsuit Against Facial Recognition Technology Companies for Allegedly Violating BIPA
A class action lawsuit was filed against several facial recognition technology companies for allegedly violating the Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act (BIPA). The defendants are accused of offering a facial recognition search engine called Pimeyes, which collects images from databases across the internet and scans them into their database seemingly without consent. This action is claimed to invade the privacy of millions of Americans. The lawsuit argues that Pimeyes lacks publicly available policies regarding data storage and deletion, in contravention of BIPA's requirements for informed written consent before collecting biometric data.
ChatGPT Reportedly Banned by Italian Authority Due to OpenAI's Purported Lack of Legal Basis for Data Collection and Age Verification
Italy's data protection authority is reported to have temporarily limited OpenAI's processing of Italian users' data after alleging that ChatGPT lacked adequate notice and legal basis for large-scale personal data collection and processing used to train the system. The authority also cited a March 2023 data breach, possible processing of inaccurate personal data, and the absence of age-verification safeguards for children.
ChatGPT Reportedly Exposed Users' Private Data Reportedly Due to Bug
ChatGPT reportedly exposed titles of users' chat histories and users' private payment information to other users reportedly due to a bug, which prompted its temporary shutdown by OpenAI.
Australian Journalist Able to Access Centrelink Account Using AI Audio of Own Voice
A Guardian journalist was able to verify their identity and gain access to their own Centrelink self-service account using AI-generated audio of their own voice along with their customer reference number, shortly after voiceprint was deployed for ID verification.
Lawyers Denied Entry to Performance Venue by Facial Recognition
Lawyers were barred from entry to Madison Square Garden after a facial recognition system matched them as employed by a law firm currently engaged in litigation with the venue.
Stable Diffusion Allegedly Used Artists' Works without Permission for AI Training
Text-to-image model Stable Diffusion was reportedly using artists' original works without permission for its AI training.
Stable Diffusion's Training Data Contained Copyrighted Images
Stability AI reportedly scraped copyrighted images by Getty Images to be used as training data for Stable Diffusion model.
Users Reported Security Issues with Google Pixel 6a's Fingerprint Unlocking
Google Pixel 6a's fingerprint recognition feature was reported by users for security issues, in which phones were mistakenly unlocked by unregistered fingerprints.
A Chinese Tech Worker at Zhihu Fired Allegedly via a Resignation Risk Prediction Algorithm
The firing of an employee at Zhihu, a large Q&A platform in China, was allegedly caused by the use of a behavioral perception algorithm which claimed to predict a worker’s resignation risk using their online footprints, such as browsing history and internal communication.
Xsolla Employees Fired by CEO Allegedly via Big Data Analytics of Work Activities
Xsolla CEO fired more than a hundred employees from his company in Perm, Russia, based on big data analysis of their remote digitized-work activity, which critics said was violating employee's privacy, outdated, and extremely ineffective.
GitHub Copilot, Copyright Infringement and Open Source Licensing
Users of GitHub Copilot can produce source code subject to license requirements without attributing and licensing the code to the rights holder.
XPeng Motors Fined For Illegal Collection of Consumers’ Faces Using Facial Recognition Cameras
The Chinese electric vehicle (EV) firm XPeng Motors was fined by local market regulators for illegally collecting in-store customers’ facial images without their consent for six months.
Miami Police Deployed Facial Recognition to Arrest George Floyd Protestor Allegedly without Cause
Miami Police's arrest report for a George Floyd protestor did not disclose use of facial recognition, which allegedly did not meet the legal threshold for probable cause for arrest.
Uber Allegedly Violated GDPR by Failing to Provide Sufficient Notice on Automated Profiling for Drivers
Uber was alleged in a lawsuit to have provided incomplete notice about automated decision-making and profiling for drivers such as information about their driving behavior, and use of phone.
Hive Box Facial-Recognition Locks Hacked by Fourth Graders Using Intended Recipient’s Facial Photo
Facial-recognition locks by Hive Box, an express delivery locker company in China, were easily opened by a group of fourth-graders in a science-club demo using only a printed photo of the intended recipient’s face, leaving contents vulnerable to theft.