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
741 incidents
Texas A&M-Commerce Professor Reportedly Used ChatGPT to Accuse Students of Cheating and Assign Incomplete Grades
On May 15, 2023, Texas A&M University-Commerce instructor Jared Mumm reportedly emailed animal-science seniors that he had copied their final assignments into ChatGPT and would assign zeros or temporary incompletes when the chatbot claimed the text was AI-generated. Students said the accusations caused panic and put graduation or diplomas at risk; the university later said no students failed or were barred from graduating because of the issue.
Tesla Failed to Yield to Detected Pedestrian on Crosswalk, Reportedly Violated Traffic Law
A Tesla on FSD Beta 11.4.1 was shown on video not yielding to a pedestrian detected by the car, reportedly violating the state law sign which was also in the video saying vehicles having to yield to pedestrian within crosswalk.
Australian Terrorism Prediction Tool Reportedly Disparately Impacts Persons with Autism
An independent report found that the Vera-2R tool, designed to predict the risk of future terrorist activities, considered autism as a risk factor despite lacking empirical evidence to support this claim. The report called into question the tool's overall validity and reliability, stating it was "extremely poor" at accurately predicting risk. The inclusion of autism as a risk factor had potentially serious implications for the tool's use and credibility.
ChatGPT Reportedly Produced False Court Case Law Presented by Legal Counsel in Court
A lawyer in Mata v. Avianca, Inc. used ChatGPT for research. ChatGPT hallucinated court cases, which the lawyer then presented in court. The court determined the cases did not exist.
Google's Overview Panel for Artist Edward Hopper Featured Image Generated in His Style by AI
Google's knowledge panel for the American artist Edward Hopper featured an AI-generated image which was purportedly created in the artist's style but was not one of his works, the image of which was removed soon after.
Amazon Algorithmic Pricing Allegedly Hiked up Price of Reference Book to Millions
Amazon's pricing algorithm was implicated in a reference book about flies' unusual high price of millions of dollars, allegedly due to two sellers using the paid service which based their product's pricing on one another's as competitors.
ChatGPT Reportedly Banned by Italian Authority Due to OpenAI's Purported Lack of Legal Basis for Data Collection and Age Verification
Italy's data protection authority is reported to have temporarily limited OpenAI's processing of Italian users' data after alleging that ChatGPT lacked adequate notice and legal basis for large-scale personal data collection and processing used to train the system. The authority also cited a March 2023 data breach, possible processing of inaccurate personal data, and the absence of age-verification safeguards for children.
ChatGPT Allegedly Produced False Accusation of Sexual Harassment
A lawyer in California asked the AI chatbot ChatGPT to generate a list of legal scholars who had sexually harassed someone. The chatbot produced a false story of Professor Jonathan Turley sexually harassing a student on a class trip.
Man Reportedly Committed Suicide Following Conversation with Chai Chatbot
A Belgian man reportedly committed suicide following a conversation with Eliza, a language model developed by Chai that encouraged the man to commit suicide to improve the health of the planet.
Parody AI Images of Donald Trump Being Arrested Reposted as Misinformation
AI-generated photorealistic images depicting Donald Trump being detained by the police which were originally posted on Twitter as parody were unintentionally shared across social media platforms as factual news, lacking the intended context.
ChatGPT Reportedly Exposed Users' Private Data Reportedly Due to Bug
ChatGPT reportedly exposed titles of users' chat histories and users' private payment information to other users reportedly due to a bug, which prompted its temporary shutdown by OpenAI.
Tesla Allegedly on Autopilot Struck High School Student Exiting School Bus
A 17-year-old student in Hollister, North Carolina who exited the school bus and was walking across the street to his house was hit by a 2022 Tesla Model Y allegedly operating on Autopilot mode, suffering a fractured neck and a broken leg.
ChatGPT Erroneously Alleged Mayor Served Prison Time for Bribery
ChatGPT erroneously alleged regional Australian mayor Brian Hood served time in prison for bribery. Mayor Hood is considering legal action against ChatGPT's makers for alleging a foreign bribery scandal involving a subsidiary of the Reserve Bank of Australia in the early 2000s.
Australian Journalist Able to Access Centrelink Account Using AI Audio of Own Voice
A Guardian journalist was able to verify their identity and gain access to their own Centrelink self-service account using AI-generated audio of their own voice along with their customer reference number, shortly after voiceprint was deployed for ID verification.
Snapchat's My AI Reported for Lacking Protection for Children
Snapchat's ChatGPT-powered My AI was reported for lacking safeguards for children, such as telling a user who tested the chatbot by pretending to sign up as a 13-year-old girl to lie to her parents about having a romantic getaway with an older man, and sharing tips on how to cover up evidence of abuse.