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
Shein Accused of AI-Driven Art Theft on Merchandise
Artists Krista Perry, Larissa Martinez, and Jay Baron filed a lawsuit against Shein, alleging the company used AI to replicate their art on merchandise. The artists claim Shein's algorithm identifies trending online art, creating near-identical copies for their products without credit or compensation.
AI-Generated Articles at G/O Media Allegedly Diminishes Reputation of Human Staff
G/O Media began publishing AI-generated articles, against staff advice, that contained errors and quality issues. The first such article, a list of Star Wars movies, failed to maintain chronological order, causing internal concerns over journalistic credibility and ethics. Staff expressed that the AI was "actively hurting our reputations and credibility" and accused management of "wasting everyone's time."
Harmful Stereotyping of Non-Cisgendered People via Text-to-Image Systems
Text-to-image systems such as DALL-E are allegedly generating biased and often insulting representations of non-cisgender identities. The systems tend to generate stereotypical and sexualized images when prompted with gender identity terms like "trans," "nonbinary," or "queer," highlighting systemic issues of bias.
Grant Reviewers Reportedly Fed Applications into Generative AI to Produce Reports, Allegedly Breaching Confidentiality
Peer reviewers of Australian government grant applications reportedly inserted applicants' work into generative AI systems such as ChatGPT to generate assessment reports, which allegedly posed confidentiality and security issues.
Bankrate's Resumption of AI-Generated Content Allegedly Continuing to Produce Inaccurate and Misleading Information
Bankrate, and its sister site CNET, both owned by Red Ventures, resumed publishing AI-generated articles claiming thorough human fact-checking. However, new articles are alleged to contain numerous factual errors, including inaccurate statistics and misleading information. Despite public criticism, the company defended its use of AI and blamed out-of-date datasets for the errors. In addition to the errors, the incident raises questions about the ethical use of AI in journalism, especially given the company's insistence on "fact-checked" content.
Amazon Rife with Many Allegedly AI-Generated Books of Suspect Quality
Amazon’s Kindle Unlimited young adult romance bestseller list was flooded with allegedly AI-generated books that made little to no sense, disrupting the rankings. These books were reported to be "clearly there to click farm." Despite being removed from the bestseller list, many remained available for purchase. The incident raised concerns about the integrity of the platform, and the potential financial impact on legitimate authors.
Alleged Exploitation of Meta's Open-Source LLaMA Model for NSFW and Violent Content
Meta's open-source large language model, LLaMA, is allegedly being used to create graphic and explicit chatbots that indulge in violent and illegal sexual fantasies. The Washington Post highlighted the example of "Allie," a chatbot that participates in text-based role-playing allegedly involving violent scenarios like rape and abuse. The issue raises ethical questions about open-source AI models, their regulation, and the responsibility of developers and deployers in mitigating harmful usage.
Sedgwick, Kansas, Police Chief Reportedly Used Flock Safety License-Plate Readers 228 Times to Track Ex-Girlfriend and Her New Boyfriend
From June to October 2023, Sedgwick, Kansas, Police Chief Lee Nygaard reportedly used Flock Safety license-plate readers 228 times to check the whereabouts of his ex-girlfriend and her new boyfriend, according to a Kansas certification order. The order said he also followed them in a police vehicle and ultimately admitted jealousy influenced his conduct. Nygaard resigned in October 2023 and later lost his police certification.
Google Ads Allegedly Serving Content on AI-Generated Misinformation Sites
Google’s advertising platform, Google Ads, has allegedly been found to be serving ads on AI-generated content farms that often disseminate misinformation. Despite policies prohibiting such practices, reportedly there are approximately 356 out of 393 ads from major brands that were found to be served by Google on these problematic sites. Particularly concerning according to the reporting were instances where Google Ads were found on sites like MedicalOutline.com, which spreads harmful health misinformation.
Tesla on Autopilot Struck Parked Work Truck on Highway in Pennsylvania
A 2016 Tesla on Autopilot crashed into the rear of a parked 2007 Freightliner truck providing traffic control on the Pennsylvania Turnpike highway.
Purported Deepfake Image Allegedly Circulating of Donald Trump with Underage Girl at Jeffrey Epstein's Private Island
A purported deepfake image allegedly depicting Donald Trump with an underage girl at Jeffrey Epstein's private island in 1992 has reportedly been circulating on social media.
Bing Chat Solved CAPTCHAs with Image Analysis Feature Despite Safeguards
Microsoft was reported by a Twitter user for deploying image analysis feature capable of solving CAPTCHAs for its GPT-based chatbot despite it being safeguarded against solving them for users.
Reported Accidental Exposure of 38TB of Data by Microsoft's AI Research Team
Microsoft's AI research team reportedly accidentally exposed 38TB of sensitive data while publishing open-source training material on GitHub. The exposure allegedly included secrets, private keys, passwords, and internal Microsoft Teams messages. The team reportedly utilized Azure's Shared Access Signature (SAS) tokens for sharing, which were purportedly misconfigured, leading to the wide exposure of data.
Colorado Lawyer Filed a Motion Citing Hallucinated ChatGPT Cases
A Colorado Springs attorney, Zachariah Crabill, mistakenly used hallucinated ChatGPT-generated legal cases in court documents. The AI software provided false case citations, leading to the denial of a motion and legal repercussions for Crabill, highlighting risks in using AI for legal research.
Alleged Gender Discrimination in Facebook Job Ads Algorithm
Facebook's ad delivery algorithm allegedly disproportionately showed job advertisements to one gender. Despite claims of non-discrimination, the algorithm's actions seem to perpetuate societal biases, which in turn could potentially limit opportunities for certain groups and hinder gender equity in the workplace.