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
271 incidents
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.
Kristen Bell Deepfaked in Non-Consensual AI-Generated Pornography
The actor Kristen Bell discovered that her likeness was exploited by creators of deepfake pornography, who shared their non-consensual sexual depictions of her on the Internet.
Autonomous Kargu-2 Drone Allegedly Remotely Used to Hunt down Libyan Soldiers
In Libya, a Turkish-made Kargu-2 aerial drone powered by a computer vision model was allegedly used remotely by forces backed by the Tripoli-based government to track down and attack enemies as they were running from rocket attacks.
Algorithm Used by the Malaysian Judiciary Reportedly Recommended Unusually High Sentencing to a Drug Possession Case
The AI system used by the Malaysian judiciary which explicitly considered age, employment, and socio-economic data provided sentencing to a drug possession case that was alleged by lawyer to be disproportionately high for the crime committed.
Networking Platform Giggle Employs AI to Determine Users’ Gender, Allegedly Excluding Transgender Women
A social networking platform, Giggle, allegedly collected, shared to third-parties, and used sensitive information and biometric data to verify whether a person is a woman via facial recognition, which critics claimed to be discriminatory against women of color and harmful towards trans women.
Quantum AI and Related AI-Themed Investment Scams Reportedly Used Deepfake Endorsements and Spoofed Media Sites to Solicit Investments
Researchers have described a global AI-themed investment fraud ecosystem using deepfake videos, spoofed news sites, phishing pages, and phone outreach to impersonate celebrities, news outlets, and political leaders. Reports link the scheme to fake trading platforms including Quantum AI and related sites, and to cloaked adtech infrastructure used to route likely victims while hiding scam pages from scanners.
Bots Allegedly Made up Roughly Half of Twitter Accounts in Discussions Surrounding COVID-19 Related Issues
Bots by anonymous actors were found by researchers to make up roughly half of Twitter accounts participating in COVID-19 discussions, many of which posted tweets about “reopening America“.
Uganda Deployed Huawei's Facial Recognition to Monitor Political Opposition and Protests
Huawei's AI systems involving facial recognition were reportedly deployed by the Ugandan government to monitor political opposition actors and anti-regime sentiments, which raised fears of surveillance and suppression of individual freedoms.
GAN Faces Deployed by The BL's Fake Account Network to Push Pro-Trump Content on Meta Platforms
A large network of pages, groups, and fake accounts having GAN-generated face photos associated with The BL, a US-based media outlet, reportedly bypassed Facebook moderation systems to push "pro-Trump" narratives on its platform and Instagram.
Job Screening Service Halts Facial Analysis of Applicants
In January 2021, HireVue removed the controversial AI expression tracking tool from its virtual job interview software.
Opaque Fraud Detection Algorithm by the UK’s Department of Work and Pensions Allegedly Discriminated against People with Disabilities
People with disabilities were allegedly disproportionately targeted by a benefit fraud detection algorithm which the UK’s Department of Work and Pensions was urged to disclose.
Grab Tweaked Matchmaking Algorithm, Providing Preferential Treatment to Drivers Registered with Affiliated Car Rental Service
Grab Indonesia was fined by the Indonesian Competition Commission (KPPU) for unfairly favoring drivers who rented cars via the Grab-affiliated company Teknologi Pengangkutan Indonesia (TPI), including offering more rides via their matchmaking algorithm.
Telegram Channels Allowed Users to Make Non-Consensual Deepfake Porn as Paid Service
Seven channels were connected in a Telegram ecosystem centered around letting subscribers, as a paid service, generate non-consensual deepfake nudes using a bot from submitted photos of women, including underage girls and women who they know in real life.
Length of Stay False Diagnosis Cut Off Insurer's Payment for Treatment of Elderly Woman
An elderly Wisconsin woman was algorithmically determined to have a rapid recovery, an output which the insurer based on to cut off payment for her treatment despite medical notes showing her still experiencing debilitating pain.
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.