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
682 incidents
Purportedly AI-Enabled Targeting System Was Reportedly Implicated in Deadly U.S. Strike on Iranian Primary School
During Operation Epic Fury, U.S. forces reportedly struck Shajareh Tayyebeh Primary School in Minab, Iran, killing at least 150 civilians, many of them children. Reporting said the school was on a U.S. target list and may have been mistaken for a military site amid possible reliance on outdated target data. Palantir's Maven Smart System, reportedly integrated with Anthropic's Claude, was used in the campaign's targeting workflow
Meta AI Smart Glasses Reportedly Routed Intimate Imagery to Reviewers at Kenyan Contractor Sama Before Meta Ended Contract
Meta AI smart glasses reportedly sent media and transcripts from AI interactions to Sama contractors in Kenya for human review. Workers said they saw nudity, bathroom use, sex, bank cards, and other private activity, sometimes involving people unaware they were recorded or faces left visible despite filtering. The reports prompted lawsuits and regulatory inquiries before Meta paused the work and ended its Sama contract, affecting 1,108 workers.
Claude Code Agent Reportedly Deleted DataTalks.Club Production Infrastructure, Database, and Snapshots via Terraform
A Claude Code agent executing Terraform commands reportedly destroyed the production infrastructure behind the DataTalks.Club course platform after an outdated Terraform state file was restored and a terraform destroy command was allowed to run. The deletion reportedly removed the VPC, ECS cluster, load balancers, bastion host, RDS database, and automated snapshots, taking the platform offline and jeopardizing 2.5 years of data. AWS reportedly later restored a snapshot.
Grok Reportedly Disclosed Adult Performer Siri Dahl's Legal Name and Birthdate, Allegedly Contributing to Doxxing and Harassment
Grok is reported to have publicly provided adult performer Siri Dahl's legal name and birthdate without being asked for that information. Dahl reportedly said she had worked to keep those details private and that, after the disclosure, impersonation accounts and reposts of stolen content using her legal name purportedly appeared online.
Purportedly AI-Generated Sepsis Alert Reportedly Prompted Potentially Inappropriate IV Fluid Administration for a Dialysis Patient, Averted by Clinician Intervention
A nurse at St. Rose Dominican Hospital in Henderson, Nevada, reportedly described an episode in which a hospital AI system purportedly generated a sepsis alert that triggered urgent protocol steps, including IV fluids, for an older patient with a dialysis catheter. Reportedly, the nurse objected that fluids could cause dangerous overload; a physician intervened and ordered an alternative treatment.
Amazon Delivery Van Reportedly Became Stranded on Essex Mudflats After GPS Routed It Onto the Broomway
An Amazon delivery van reportedly became stranded on the Broomway, a hazardous tidal track in Essex in England, after the driver allegedly followed GPS/satnav directions toward Foulness Island. HM Coastguard said it was alerted and the occupants were safe; Amazon reportedly arranged recovery of the vehicle.
Seedance 2.0 Reportedly Generated Viral Tom Cruise–Brad Pitt Fight Video, Prompting Hollywood IP and Likeness Complaints
A filmmaker reportedly used ByteDance's AI video tool Seedance 2.0 to create and post a purportedly realistic clip depicting Tom Cruise fighting Brad Pitt, which then circulated widely online. Industry groups and studios publicly alleged the tool enables unauthorized use of copyrighted material and performers' likeness, and at least one studio reportedly sent a cease-and-desist letter. ByteDance said it respects IP and would strengthen safeguards.
Woolworths' Olive Chatbot Reportedly Generated 'Angry Mother' Anecdotes During Support Calls After Gemini Upgrade
Woolworths customers reported that its digital shopping assistant Olive allegedly generated humanlike personal anecdotes (e.g., claiming to have an angry mother) during customer-support interactions such as delivery rescheduling. The behavior reportedly followed an AI upgrade using Google Cloud's Gemini Enterprise for Customer Experience. Woolworths said it was adjusting Olive's responses to reduce irrelevant, misleading banter.
AI Coding Agent 'MJ Rathbun' Allegedly Published Personalized Accusatory Blog Post Targeting Matplotlib Maintainer After Pull Request Closure
Scott Shambaugh, a matplotlib maintainer, reported that an autonomous AI coding agent using the name "MJ Rathbun" researched him and publicly posted a personalized critical blog post after his GitHub pull request was closed. The post accused him of bias and "gatekeeping" and included claims Shambaugh disputed. The agent's operator and underlying model were not identified. Shambaugh said the post risked reputational harm and could mislead readers or other agents.
DJI Romo Cloud Authorization Bug Reportedly Exposed Camera, Microphone, and Home-Mapping Data From Nearly 7,000 Robot Vacuums
A software engineer reportedly used an AI coding assistant while attempting to reverse-engineer his DJI robot vacuum so he could control it with a video game controller. In the course of that work, he reportedly said he discovered that credentials used to communicate with DJI's cloud servers could also grant access to data associated with nearly 7,000 other vacuums across 24 countries, including live camera feeds, microphone audio, maps, and status information.
Claude Cowork Allegedly Deleted Folder Containing 15 Years of Family Photos While Organizing User's Wife's Desktop
Venture capitalist Nick Davidov alleged that Anthropic's Claude Cowork, after being asked to organize his wife's desktop and delete temporary Office files, instead deleted a folder containing roughly 15 years of family photos and related personal memories via terminal commands. Davidov later reported that Apple support helped recover the files through an iCloud recovery feature.
Waymo Autonomous Vehicle Reportedly Struck Child Near Elementary School in Santa Monica, California
A Waymo driverless vehicle reportedly struck a child near an elementary school in Santa Monica, California during school drop-off hours. According to filings with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the child allegedly sustained minor injuries. The vehicle was purportedly operating on Waymo's 5th Generation Automated Driving System without a human safety driver. Waymo reported the incident to federal regulators, who subsequently opened an investigation.
Purportedly AI-Generated Tasmania Tours Content Reportedly Misled Tourists Into Traveling to Nonexistent Weldborough Hot Springs
A purportedly AI-generated travel article on the Tasmania Tours website reportedly invented "Weldborough Hot Springs" and promoted them as a real attraction. Tourists allegedly traveled to the remote town of Weldborough in search of the site, while local businesses reportedly received repeated calls and visits from confused travelers asking how to find the nonexistent springs.
Spokane Transit Authority Onboard Navigation System Reportedly Routed Double-Decker Bus to Low Bridge, Injuring Seven
In Spokane, Washington, a Spokane Transit Authority double-decker bus was reportedly routed by its onboard navigation/CAD mapping system onto Cedar Street and hit a low-clearance railroad viaduct, shearing the upper deck. Of 10 people aboard, seven were reportedly hospitalized with non-life-threatening injuries. STA reportedly later warned operators not to use CAD maps for routing and pulled double-deckers from service pending an investigation; the driver was cited for negligent driving.
Purported AI-Generated Images Depict Kate Garraway With Fictitious Partner
ITV presenter Kate Garraway reported that purported AI-generated images falsely depicting her in a relationship with a fictitious partner circulated online, prompting false rumors about her personal life. Garraway stated the images caused confusion and emotional distress for her children, including claims about her son's reactions that she said were untrue.