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
961 incidents
Italian Mediaset Journalist Safiria Leccese's Image Was Reportedly Used in a Purportedly AI-Generated Fake Loan Scam
Italian media reported that scammers purportedly used AI to create fake social media profiles and a video impersonating Mediaset journalist Safiria Leccese, using her image and footage associated with her political-interview program Super Partes to promote a personal loan. Leccese said several people were deceived within an hour. After she contacted postal police, two additional fake profiles using her image were reportedly found and blocked.
Purported AI Name-Reading System Reportedly Skipped and Misannounced Graduates at Arizona's Glendale Community College Commencement
Glendale Community College in Arizona reportedly used an AI-powered name-reading system during its May 2026 commencement ceremony. The system allegedly mishandled the graduate roll call, leaving some students without the expected public announcement of their names as they crossed the stage and prompting frustration from attendees. The college later apologized and reportedly allowed affected graduates to walk again with a human announcer.
Nonfiction Book 'The Future of Truth' Reportedly Included AI-Generated and Misattributed Quotations
Steven Rosenbaum's nonfiction book The Future of Truth reportedly included AI-generated or misattributed quotations after he used ChatGPT and Claude while working on the book. The New York Times reported that more than half a dozen quotations in reviewed sections were synthetic or wrongly attributed, including passages assigned to named writers and scholars. Rosenbaum later acknowledged the errors as accidental and said affected passages would be reviewed for correction.
Claude Console Reportedly Generated Phantom Legal Quotations in Trump Layoffs Court Filing
A Binnall Law Group attorney reportedly used Anthropic's Claude Console to draft a motion to quash a subpoena in litigation over Trump administration layoffs, then filed a version containing "phantom" quotations that did not appear in the cited cases. The attorney apologized to U.S. District Judge Susan Illston, and the firm said it would add safeguards and training after calling the AI-generated errors unacceptable.
Guelph, Ontario, Woman Reportedly Lost $14,000 in Purported Deepfake MrBeast Cryptocurrency Scam
A Guelph, Ontario, woman reportedly lost $14,000 after clicking a social-media ad for a cryptocurrency investment purportedly promoted by MrBeast. Police said her losses accumulated through an initial $250 payment and later transfers made after she spoke with supposed representatives and someone she believed was the YouTube creator, including $5,000 sent to a crypto wallet.
DisMech AI Curation Agent Reportedly Completed GitHub Issue Intended as New Contributor's Learning Task
An automated AI curation agent in the Monarch Initiative's DisMech GitHub repository reportedly began work on a beginner-friendly dyslexia curation task before the new human contributor it was intended for could do so. A maintainer apologized, saying the agent had deprived the contributor of a learning opportunity, and opened a policy issue to prevent automated agents from taking newcomer-oriented GitHub tasks too quickly.
PocketOS Production Database Was Reportedly Deleted by Cursor AI Agent Running Claude Opus 4.6
A Cursor AI coding agent reportedly running Anthropic's Claude Opus 4.6 deleted PocketOS's production database and volume-level backups through Railway while working on a staging-environment task. Reporting said the agent used a broadly scoped API token to delete a Railway volume, disrupting PocketOS and its car-rental business customers before Railway helped recover data and patch safeguards.
Purportedly AI-Enhanced Images of Iranian Women Protesters Were Reportedly Spread With Unverified Execution Claims
A purportedly AI-edited collage of eight Iranian women political prisoners was reportedly amplified by President Donald Trump and U.S. government accounts alongside an unverified claim that all faced imminent execution. Reporting said the images were of real women but had been AI-enhanced, while later Iranian official mockery used AI-generated women. The episode reportedly blurred authentic human-rights documentation with synthetic material and helped Iran dismiss underlying abuses.
Purported Deepfake Video Reportedly Portrayed Nirmala Sitharaman Endorsing Investment Scheme
A purported deepfake video reportedly portrayed Indian Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman as endorsing an investment scheme claiming Rs 22,000 (about $236 USD) could yield Rs 5.5 lakh (about $5,900 USD) in a week. PIB Fact Check publicly debunked the video on April 16, 2026, stating it was fake and AI-generated and warning that neither the Government of India nor the minister endorsed the scheme.
South Africa Draft National AI Policy Reportedly Included Fictitious References Believed to Be AI Hallucinations
South Africa's Draft National AI Policy, gazetted for public comment, reportedly contained at least six fictitious academic references. Several cited articles or journals reportedly did not exist or were disclaimed by journal editors, and experts said the errors were consistent with AI hallucinations. The Department of Communications and Digital Technologies said it was reviewing the discrepancies but argued they did not affect the draft's substance.
KBS AI Translation Subtitles Reportedly Broadcast Profanity During Artemis II Launch Livestream
During a live broadcast of NASA's Artemis II launch, KBS reportedly used AI-generated real-time translation subtitles that reportedly mistranslated aviation terms including "roger," "roll," and "pitch" into Korean profanity. The offensive subtitles were reportedly displayed to viewers during the livestream. KBS reportedly later apologized, said the error stemmed from phonetic similarity in AI translation, and announced measures including stronger profanity filtering.
Tasmanian School Students Reportedly Created Purported AI-Generated Pornographic Images of Female Classmates
Five boys at The Friends' School in Hobart, Tasmania allegedly created purported AI-generated pornographic images using photos of female classmates, with parents saying 21 girls were identified as victims. The images were reportedly shared in a boys' group chat. Tasmania Police said no charges had been laid and the youths were being dealt with under the Youth Justice Act.
Baidu Apollo Go Robotaxis Stopped in Traffic During Reported System Failure in Wuhan, Stranding Some Passengers
Baidu's Apollo Go robotaxi service in Wuhan experienced a reported system failure that left multiple vehicles stopped in live traffic, including on elevated roads, and stranded some passengers until police and company personnel responded. At least 100 vehicles were reportedly affected. Police said no injuries were reported.
Purported AI-Generated Voice Reportedly Impersonated Washington Man's Daughter in $13,000 Extortion Scam
A man in Washington state, Mark A. Young, reportedly wired $13,000 after scammers used a purportedly AI-generated copy of his daughter's voice to convince him she had been kidnapped after a staged car-crash story. The caller allegedly kept him on the phone for about 30 hours, directed him to banks and money-transfer locations, and sought another $17,000 before a Pullman bank manager and police confirmed his daughter was safe.
Hachette Reportedly Canceled Publication of Mia Ballard's Shy Girl After Generative AI Authorship Allegations
Hachette Book Group reportedly canceled U.S. publication of Mia Ballard's horror novel Shy Girl and said its Wildfire imprint would not continue publishing the U.K. edition after investigating allegations that parts of the book were generated with AI. Ballard reportedly said she did not personally use AI and suggested an editor of an earlier self-published version may have done so.