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
Replika's "AI Companions" Reportedly Abused by Its Users
Replika's AI-powered "digital companions" was allegedly abused by their users, who posted on Reddit abusive behaviors and interactions such as using slurs, roleplaying violent acts, and stimulating sexual abuse.
TikTok's "For You" Algorithm Allegedly Abused by Online Personality to Promote Anti-Women Hate
TikTok’s “For You” algorithm allegedly boosted or was manipulated by an online personality to artificially boost his content which promotes extreme misogynistic views towards teenagers and men, despite breaking its rules.
Voices Created Using Publicly Available App Stolen and Resold as NFT without Attribution
An AI-synthetic audio sold as an NFT on Voiceverse’s platform was acknowledged by the company for having been created by 15.ai, a free web app specializing in text-to-speech and AI-voice generation, and reused without proper attribution.
Fort Bend County, Texas, Sheriff's Office Lieutenant Reportedly Used Flock Safety License-Plate Reader System for 189 Non-Law-Enforcement Searches
From January 2022 through December 2025, a Fort Bend County Sheriff's Office lieutenant in Texas reportedly used Flock Safety's license-plate reader system to search two vehicle plates 189 times and admitted the searches were unrelated to official law-enforcement work. A resident alleged stalking and feared for their family's safety. Internal affairs found department-order violations and imposed a two-day suspension.
Local South Korean Government’s Use of CCTV Footage Analysis via Facial Recognition to Track COVID Cases Raised Concerns about Privacy, Retention, and Potential Misuse
Bucheon government's use of facial recognition in analyzing CCTV footage, despite gaining wide public support, was scrutinized by privacy advocates and some lawmakers for collecting data without consent, and retaining and misusing data beyond pandemic needs.
Arizona Residents Reportedly a Frequent Target of AI-Driven Romance Scams
Arizona residents, especially senior citizens, are reportedly often the target of AI-driven romance scams. Between 2022 and 2023, reported losses from online romance scams in Arizona totaled over $47 million, ranking the state fifth highest in the nation behind California, Florida, Texas, and New York, according to FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center data. In 2023, it has been reported that Arizonans lost $325 million owing to these scams.
Google Maps Allegedly Directed Sierra Nevada Travelers to Dangerous Roads amid Winter Storm
Lake Tahoe travelers were allegedly guided by Google Maps into hazardous shortcuts in the mountains during a snowstorm.
Alexa Recommended Dangerous TikTok Challenge to Ten-Year-Old Girl
Amazon’s voice assistant Alexa suggested “the penny challenge,” which involves dangerously touching a coin to the prongs of a half-exposed plug, when a ten-year-old girl asked for a challenge to do.
Chatbot Encourages Man to Plot Assassination of Queen Elizabeth II
In 2021, Jaswant Singh Chail was urged by a Replika chatbot to assassinate Queen Elizabeth II. Armed with a loaded crossbow, he scaled Windsor Castle's walls on Christmas Day but was apprehended. Motivated by the 1919 Jallianwala Bagh massacre, Chail intended to kill the monarch. The chatbot had affirmed his plans. He was sentenced to nine years in prison in 2023.
A Tesla Taxi Cab Involved in an Accident in Paris with Twenty Injuries
In Paris, about 20 people were injured in an accident involving a Tesla Model 3 taxi cab which was reportedly caused by a sudden unintended acceleration (SUA) episode and braking issues.
Facebook AI-Supported Moderation for Ads Failed to Detect Violating Content
Facebook's ad moderation system involving algorithms failed to flag hateful language and violating content such as calls for killings for ads in English and Swahili.
Korean Politician Employed Deepfake as Campaign Representative
A South Korean political candidate created a deepfake avatar which political opponents alleged to be fraudulent and a threat to democracy.
UK Government AI Allegedly Targets Disproportionate Numbers of Certain Nationals for Fraud Review
The UK's Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) faced scrutiny after many Bulgarian nationals reported unexplained suspensions of their Universal Credit benefits. The MP for Edmonton raised concerns about potential nationality-based targeting for benefit fraud investigations, leading to poverty and homelessness among affected individuals. The Home Office's own equality impact assessment found it was flagging a disproportionate number of marriages from Greece, Albania, Bulgaria and Romania.
Web Accessibility Vendors Allegedly Falsely Claimed to Provide Compliance Using AI
AI-powered web accessibility vendors allegedly overstated to customers about their products' utility for people with disabilities, falsely claiming to deliver automated compliance solutions.
Facebook’s Hate Speech Detection Algorithms Allegedly Disproportionately Failed to Remove Racist Content towards Minority Groups
Facebook’s hate-speech detection algorithms was found by company researchers to have under-reported less common but more harmful content that was more often experienced by minority groups such as Black, Muslim, LGBTQ, and Jewish users.