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
53 incidents
Scarlett Johansson Alleges OpenAI's Sky Imitates Her Voice Without Licensing
OpenAI unveiled a voice assistant with a voice resembling Scarlett Johansson's, despite her refusal to license her voice. Johansson claimed the assistant, "Sky," sounded "eerily similar" to her voice, leading her to seek legal action. OpenAI suspended Sky, asserting the voice was from a different actress.
AI Firm Lovo Reportedly Accused of Illegally Replicating Voice Actors' Voices
Two voice actors, Paul Skye Lehrman and Linnea Sage, are reportedly suing AI start-up Lovo for allegedly creating and promoting unauthorized clones of their voices. Lovo's synthetic voices were allegedly discovered in various media, including a podcast and promotional videos. The actors claim they were misled into providing voice samples, which were then allegedly used without consent, violating trademark and privacy laws.
OpenAI, Google, and Meta Alleged to Have Overstepped Legal Boundaries for Training AI
In late 2021, OpenAI and other tech giants like Google and Meta reportedly faced data shortages for training AI models. OpenAI is said to have developed a tool called Whisper to transcribe over one million hours of YouTube videos, potentially violating YouTube’s terms of service. Similarly, Google allegedly transcribed YouTube videos, risking copyright infringements. Meta reportedly explored summarizing copyrighted texts without permission and debated acquiring Simon & Schuster for data.
AI Romance Apps Reportedly Compromise User Privacy for Data Harvesting
AI-powered romantic chatbots, marketed for enhancing mental health, are found to exploit user privacy by harvesting sensitive personal information for data sharing and targeted ads, with inadequate security measures and consent protocols, according to research by the Mozilla Foundation.
Purported Mass Facial Recognition Program in Gaza Reportedly Used by Israeli Forces to Identify Palestinians
A previously undisclosed facial recognition initiative operated by Israeli military intelligence units was reportedly deployed across Gaza after the October 7, 2023 attacks. According to multiple intelligence officers, the program uses Corsight technology alongside Google Photos to identify individuals from checkpoints, crowds, and drone footage. The system has allegedly produced misidentifications, including the widely reported detention of Palestinian poet Mosab Abu Toha on November 19, 2023.
FTC Targets Edmodo for Unlawful Use of Children’s Data and Delegating Compliance to Schools
Edmodo, an education technology provider, violated the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act Rule (COPPA Rule) by collecting and using children's personal data for advertising purposes without parental consent, according to the FTC. The company outsourced its compliance responsibilities to schools, thereby making them "solely" responsible for COPPA compliance without adequate disclosure. Edmodo is facing a proposed order prohibiting such practices, marking a precedent in the ed tech industry.
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.
Meta and OpenAI Accused of Using LibGen’s Pirated Books to Train AI Models
Court records reveal that Meta employees allegedly discussed pirating books to train LLaMA 3, citing cost and speed concerns with licensing. Internal messages suggest Meta accessed LibGen, a repository of over 7.5 million pirated books, with apparent approval from Mark Zuckerberg. Employees allegedly took steps to obscure the dataset’s origins. OpenAI has also been implicated in using LibGen.
Bing Chat's Initial Prompts Revealed by Early Testers Through Prompt Injection
Early testers of Bing Chat successfully used prompt injection to reveal its built-in initial instructions, which contains a list of statements governing ChatGPT's interaction with users.
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.
GPT-3-Based Twitter Bot Hijacked Using Prompt Injection Attacks
Remoteli.io's GPT-3-based Twitter bot was shown being hijacked by Twitter users who redirected it to repeat or generate any phrases.
Facial Recognition Trial by UK Southern Co-op Alleged as Unlawful
Southern Co-op's use of facial recognition reportedly to curb violent crime in UK supermarkets was alleged by civil society and privacy groups as "unlawful" and "complete" invasion of privacy.
Australian Retailers Reportedly Captured Face Prints of Their Customers without Consent
Major Australian retailers reportedly analyzed in-store footage to capture facial features of their customers without consent, which was criticized by consumer groups as creepy and invasive.