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
Buenos Aires Government Reportedly Used Children's Personal Data in Facial Recognition System for Fugitives
Beginning in April 2019, the Buenos Aires city government reportedly used data from Argentina’s CONARC fugitive database, including children’s identities and reference photos, in its live Facial Recognition System for Fugitives (SRFP). Human Rights Watch found at least 166 children had appeared in CONARC between 2017 and 2020 and warned that the system exposed them to privacy violations and elevated risks of false matches.
GPT-2 Reportedly Reproduced Personal Data from Its Training Data
OpenAI's GPT-2 reportedly memorized and reproduced portions of its training data, including personal information such as names, email addresses, social media handles, and phone numbers. Researchers raised concerns that large language models could expose private or sensitive information when trained on web-scale datasets containing personal data.
Amazon Echo Mistakenly Recorded and Sent Private Conversation to Random Contact
Amazon Echo misinterpreted a background conversation between a husband and wife as instructions for recording a message and sending it to one of the husband's employees.
Hackers Break Apple Face ID
Vietnamese security firm Bkav created an improved mask to bypass Apple's Face ID
Identical Twins Can Open Apple FaceID Protected Devices
Apple's iPhone FaceID can be opened by an identical twin of the person who has registered their face to unlock the phone.
UK High Court Found Sky Betting & Gaming Unlawfully Used Automated Profiling and Targeted Marketing to Exploit a Recovering Problem Gambler
In the UK, the High Court found that Sky Betting & Gaming unlawfully used automated profiling and targeted direct marketing to pursue a recovering problem gambler from July 28, 2017 onward without valid consent. Sky reportedly treated him as a high-value customer despite addiction indicators.
Clearview AI Algorithm Built on Photos Scraped from Social Media Profiles without Consent
Face-matching algorithm by Clearview AI was built using scraped images from social media sites such as Instagram and Facebook without user consent, violating social media site policies, and allegedly privacy regulations.
BBC Reporter's Twin Brother Cracked HSBC's Voice ID Authentication
HSBC’s voice recognition authentication system was fooled after seven repeated attempts by a BBC reporter's twin brother who mimicked his voice to access his bank account.
Facebook Reportedly Outed Sex Workers through Friend Recommendations
Facebook's "People You May Know" feature reportedly outed sex workers by recommending clients to their personal accounts or family members to their business accounts with no option to opt out.
PimEyes's Facial Recognition AI Allegedly Lacked Safeguards to Prevent Itself from Being Abused
PimEyes offered its subscription-based AI service to anyone in the public to search for matching facial images across the internet, which critics said lacked public oversight and government rules to prevent itself from misuse such as stalking women.
Facial Recognition Smart Phone App 'Blue Wolf' Reportedly Monitored Palestinians in the West Bank
A surveillance program involving facial recognition and algorithmic recommendations, Blue Wolf, was reportedly deployed by the Israeli military to monitor Palestinians in the West Bank.
Facebook's Friend Suggestion Feature Recommends Patients of Psychiatrist to Each Other
Facebook's "People You May Know" (PYMK) feature was reported by a psychiatrist for recommending her patients as friends through recommendations, violating patients' privacy and confidentiality.
Google's Face Grouping Allegedly Collected and Analyzed Users' Facial Structure without Consent, Violated BIPA
A class-action lawsuit alleged Google failing to provide notice, obtain informed written consent, or publish data retention policies about the collection, storage, and analysis of its face-grouping feature in Google Photos, which violated Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act (BIPA).
Oracle's Algorithmic Data Processing System Alleged as Unlawful and Violating Privacy Rights
Oracle's automated system involving algorithmic data processing was alleged in a lawsuit to have been unlawfully collecting personal data from millions of people and violating their privacy rights.
Machine Personal Assistants Failed to Maintain Social Norms
During an experiment of software personal assistants at the Information Sciences Institute (ISI) at the University of Southern California (USC), researchers found that the assistants violated the privacy of their principals and were unable to respect the social norms of the office.