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
526 incidents
Hoodline Accused of Misleadingly Attributing AI-Generated Articles to Human Authors
In 2023, the news site Hoodline is reported to have begun publishing AI-generated articles with fake bylines, headshots, and biographies, allegedly misleading readers into believing they were authored by real journalists. This practice diminishes public trust and exemplifies the potential dangers of AI in journalism. Despite a disclaimer, the use of AI was not transparent.
Covert AI Influence Operations Linked to Russia, China, Iran, and Israel, OpenAI Reports
In a report released by OpenAI, the company described how its generative AI tools were misused by state actors and private companies in Russia, China, Iran, and Israel to conduct covert influence campaigns aimed at manipulating public opinion and geopolitical narratives.
American Asylum Seeker John Mark Dougan in Russia Reportedly Spreads Disinformation via AI Tools and Fake News Network
John Mark Dougan, a former Florida sheriff's deputy granted asylum in Russia, has been implicated in spreading disinformation. Utilizing AI tools like OpenAI's ChatGPT and DALL-E 3, Dougan created over 160 fake news sites, disseminating false narratives to millions worldwide. His actions align with Russian disinformation strategies targeting Western democracies. See also Incident 734.
Reportedly Hacked AI-Powered Robot Vacuums Allegedly Used for Surveillance and Harassment
Hackers reportedly exploited a vulnerability in Ecovacs’s Deebot X2 robot vacuums, gaining unauthorized access to camera and microphone controls. Users reported privacy invasions and offensive language broadcasted through the devices. Although Ecovacs claimed to have resolved the security flaw, researchers suggest vulnerabilities remain that could potentially leave users exposed to surveillance and harassment through their AI-enabled devices.
VA Suicide Prevention Algorithm REACH VET Reportedly Prioritizes Men Over Women Veterans
An AI program named REACH VET, designed and used by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to prevent veteran suicides, was reportedly found to prioritize white men while neglecting female veterans and survivors of military sexual trauma. This oversight persists despite rising suicide rates among these groups. The incident is an example of algorithmic bias and the exclusion of critical risk factors for female veterans.
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.
GPT-4o's Chinese Tokens Reportedly Compromised by Spam and Pornography Due to Inadequate Filtering
OpenAI's GPT-4o was found to have its Chinese token training data compromised by spam and pornographic phrases due to inadequate data cleaning. Tianle Cai, a Ph.D. student at Princeton University, identified that most of the longest Chinese tokens were irrelevant and inappropriate, primarily originating from spam and pornography websites. The polluted tokens could lead to hallucinations, poor performance, and potential misuse, undermining the chatbot's reliability and safety measures.
Scammers Reportedly Used AI Voice Clone and YouTube Footage to Impersonate WPP CEO in Unsuccessful Scam Attempt
Scammers reportedly attempted to impersonate WPP CEO Mark Read using AI-generated voice cloning and YouTube footage in a Microsoft Teams scam. They allegedly created a fake WhatsApp account with Read’s image and used deepfake audio to deceive an agency leader into setting up a new business. The scheme, which was unsuccessful, aimed to solicit money and personal data.
Alleged LLMjacking Targets AI Cloud Services with Stolen Credentials
Attackers reportedly exploited stolen cloud credentials obtained through a vulnerable Laravel system (CVE-2021-3129) to allegedly abuse AI cloud services, including Anthropic’s Claude and AWS Bedrock, in a scheme referred to as “LLMjacking.” The attackers are said to have monetized access through reverse proxies, reportedly inflating victim costs to as much as $100,000 per day. Additionally, they allegedly bypassed sanctions, enabled LLM models, and evolved techniques to evade detection and logging.
Purported Deepfake Facebook Advertisement Reportedly Used Bulgarian Actor and TV Host Mihail Bilalov's Likeness to Market Joint-Pain Product
A reportedly AI-manipulated Facebook advertisement appeared to repurpose footage of Bulgarian actor and television host Mihail Bilalov, overlaying purportedly fabricated audio and altered lip movements to market an alleged joint-pain product. The ad reportedly linked to a fabricated article imitating a Bulgarian news outlet and to an online sales funnel for a product described as unavailable through pharmacies.
Purported Deepfake Facebook Advertisement Reportedly Used Bulgarian Actor, Director, and Playwright Kamen Donev's Likeness to Market Joint-Pain Product
A reportedly AI-manipulated Facebook advertisement appeared to repurpose footage of Bulgarian actor, director, and playwright Kamen Donev, allegedly overlaying fabricated audio and altered lip movements to market a purported joint-pain product. The ad reportedly linked to a presumably fabricated article imitating a Bulgarian news outlet and to an online sales funnel for a product described as unavailable through pharmacies.
ChatGPT and Perplexity Reportedly Manipulated into Breaking Content Policies in AI Boyfriend Scenarios
The "Dan" ("Do Anything Now") AI boyfriend is a trend on TikTok in which users appear to regularly manipulate ChatGPT to adopt boyfriend personas, breaching content policies. ChatGPT 3.5 is reported to regularly produce explicitly sexual content, directly violating its intended safety protocols. GPT-4 and Perplexity AI were subjected to similar manipulations, and although they exhibited more resistance to breaches, some prompts were reported to break its guidelines.
Unauthorized Use of AI to Replicate Tupac Shakur's and Snoop Dogg's Voices in Drake's 'Taylor Made Freestyle'
Drake released a song, "Taylor Made Freestyle," featuring AI-generated voices of Tupac Shakur and Snoop Dogg. The unauthorized replication of Tupac’s voice without the estate's consent led to a cease-and-desist order.
Deepfake of Former Prime Minister of Malta Joseph Muscat Allegedly Promotes Nord Invest Scam
A reported doctored video falsely depicts former Maltese Prime Minister Joseph Muscat promoting the crypto platform Nord Invest. The manipulated footage, originally from a 2013 Sky News interview, was overlaid with AI-generated audio to mimic Muscat’s voice endorsing a fraudulent scheme. The video was reportedly shared through Facebook.
Risk Taxonomy
Caused By
Year Trend
* Oct 2026, ~320 projected full year
AIID · MIT AIRI · CC BY-SA 4.0