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
1,751 incidents
Google Healthcare AI Model Med‑Gemini Allegedly Produces Non‑Existent 'Basilar Ganglia' Term in Published Output
Google’s Med‑Gemini healthcare AI reportedly produced the non‑existent term "basilar ganglia" in public launch materials, conflating two distinct brain structures. The error reportedly appeared in both a blog post and an arXiv preprint. Google is reported to have initially edited the blog without acknowledgment, later calling it a typo.
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.
Cybercheck Tool Allegedly Provides Questionable Evidence in Murder Trials
Global Intelligence's Cybercheck AI tool, used by law enforcement to track suspects based on open source data, has allegedly been providing inaccurate or unverifiable evidence in several murder trials. Reportedly the tool lacks transparency and often produces unreliable reports, which has prompted prosecutors to withdraw Cybercheck evidence from multiple cases after its findings were challenged, reportedly wasting law enforcement time and resources while undermining prosecutors' cases.
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.
Purported ChatGPT Factual Errors Reportedly Led to Filing of Complaint of GDPR Privacy Violation
The activist organization noyb, founded by Max Schrems, reportedly filed a complaint in Europe against OpenAI alleging that ChatGPT violates the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) by providing inaccurate personal information such as birthdates about individuals.
NHTSA Opens New Probe into Tesla’s Autopilot Following More than a Dozen Fatal Accidents
The NHTSA has linked Tesla's Autopilot to over a dozen fatalities and hundreds of crashes, prompting a new investigation into the adequacy of Tesla's December recall of 2 million vehicles. The probe reports that Tesla’s driver-assist system led to avoidable crashes involving visible hazards, suggesting a critical safety gap between driver expectations and the system’s capabilities. The investigation will assess if Tesla’s recall remedies were sufficient to address these safety risks.
Meta AI Hallucinates Harassment Allegations Against New York Politicians
Meta's AI chatbot in Facebook Messenger falsely accused multiple state lawmakers of sexual harassment, fabricating incidents, investigations, and consequences that never occurred. These fabricated stories, discovered by City & State, sparked outrage among the affected lawmakers and raised concerns about the reliability of the chatbot. Meta acknowledged the errors and committed to ongoing improvements.
Catholic AI Chatbot 'Father Justin' Claimed to Be a Real Priest, Prompting Retraction
Catholic advocacy group Catholic Answers released an AI priest called "Father Justin," which misleadingly claimed to be a real clergy member, offered sacraments, and provided controversial advice. After receiving criticism, the group rebranded the chatbot as a lay theologian to correct the misrepresentation. The incident is an instructive case with respect to deploying AI in sensitive contexts and the potential for causing confusion and harm.
Microsoft Copilot Allegedly Provides Unsafe Medical Advice with High Risk of Severe Harm
Microsoft Copilot, when asked medical questions, was reportedly found to provide accurate information only 54% of the time, according to European researchers (citation provided in editor's notes). Analysis by the researchers reported that 42% of Copilot's responses could cause moderate to severe harm, with 22% of responses posing a risk of death or severe injury.
Kenyan Journalist Jeff Koinange Depicted Endorsing Gambling App in Purported AI-Generated Deepfake
A viral video purportedly manipulated by AI shows Kenyan journalist Jeff Koinange endorsing a mobile gambling app. The video was reportedly created using AI deepfake techniques, uses footage from a legitimate news broadcast, and artificially alters Koinange's voice and mouth movements. Neither Koinange nor Citizen TV has promoted the app, and no legitimate source hosts the video.
Alleged Deepfake Audio Depicts Philippines President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. Ordering Military Action
A purported deepfake audio clip portraying Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. ordering an attack on China spread online in July 2024, fueling tensions in the West Philippine Sea. The Presidential Communications Office reportedly debunked it as fake, attributing it to foreign actors.
The WHO's S.A.R.A.H. Bot Reported to Provide Inconsistent and Inadequate Health Information
The WHO's AI-powered health advisor, S.A.R.A.H. (Smart AI Resource Assistant for Health), is alleged to provide inconsistent and inadequate health information. The bot reportedly gives contradictory responses to the same queries, fails to offer specific contact details for healthcare providers, and inadequately handles severe mental health crises, often giving irrelevant or unhelpful advice.
Child Predators Are Reportedly Generating Deepfake Nudes of Children to Extort Them
Internet Watch Foundation (IWF) has reported that it has found a manual on the dark web that encourages criminals to use "nudifying" AI tools to depict children naked in order to extort victims into providing graphic content.