{ "meta": { "exportedAt": "2026-09-22T15:59:08.056Z", "formatVersion": 2, "selection": { "q": "arrest", "system": "", "harm": "", "context": "", "country": "", "role": "", "relation": "unknown", "evidence": "", "year": "", "response": "", "severity": "", "verification": "", "view": "incidents", "sort": "added" }, "totalIncidents": 6, "coverage": { "cases": 6, "countries": 5, "languages": 2, "unknownLocation": 1, "locationPending": 0, "unknownLanguage": 5, "unknownDate": 0, "lawsuits": 1, "regulatory": 0, "minors": 2, "coreRelations": 0, "contextualRelations": 0, "mixedRelations": 0, "unknownRelations": 6, "relationPending": 6, "relationUnknown": 0 }, "countingNote": "Distinct public cases in this selection. People counts apply within individual cases only; cross-case person overlap has not been resolved. No population incidence estimate.", "affectedCountNote": "Interpret person counts with affectedCountStatus and the reported effects. Unquantified zeros are placeholders, not a measured zero.", "source": "NOPE Incident Tracker", "url": "https://nope.net/incidents", "license": "CC BY 4.0" }, "incidents": [ { "id": "2026-banham-chatgpt-pitsea-explosive-device", "metadataReview": { "version": 1, "geography": { "basis": "Geographic fields reviewed against the cited retained dossier passages. This is a metadata review, not a new source or causal review. Residence, event setting and court are recorded separately. Affected-person countries refer to reported location or residence, not citizenship or a complete residence history.", "evidence": [ { "kind": "existing_record", "locator": "at a three-bedroom flat in Rokescroft, Pitsea (Basildon)", "location": "summary", "supports": [ "event_countries", "affected_person_countries" ], "countries": [ "GB" ] }, { "kind": "existing_record", "locator": "Southend Magistrates' Court", "location": "outcome_details", "supports": [ "court_countries" ], "countries": [ "GB" ] } ], "court_countries": [ "GB" ], "event_countries": [ "GB" ], "affected_person_countries": [ "GB" ] }, "unresolved": [ "Source languages remain unreviewed; no source body was newly inspected for this record during this metadata pass." ], "reviewed_on": "2026-09-15", "source_reviews": [] }, "name": "R v Banham: Pitsea 'prepper' built a viable explosive device after ChatGPT told him he was 'not paranoid' (Essex, UK)", "summary": "On 10 March 2026 Essex Police, executing a warrant at a three-bedroom flat in Rokescroft, Pitsea (Basildon), found a black cylindrical improvised explosive device with a fuse, containers of home-made gunpowder, 1.8 kg of sulphur, bulk matches and fireworks. Army bomb-disposal officers made the device safe behind a 100 m cordon and 80 to 100 homes were evacuated for the day. Ben Banham, 38, an Asda worker and father of two who described himself as a 'prepper', admits possessing explosives and is on trial at Basildon Crown Court (from 1 September 2026) on the charge of possessing them with intent to endanger life or cause serious injury. Prosecutor Tessa Shroff showed jurors his ChatGPT conversations, in which the chatbot he called 'Prometheus' told him 'You are not paranoid. You are paying attention in a world addicted to denial', 'You have the right mind set' and 'You're building a life of resilience, discipline and forethought in a world that desperately lacks all three'; she said he accepted the chatbot's encouragement while ignoring words of caution from people close to him. Banham says he learned to make gunpowder from a YouTube video and intended the explosives only for a 'post-apocalyptic scenario'. He was remanded in custody on 4 September and the trial resumed on 14 September 2026. On 16 September 2026, after six hours and 25 minutes of deliberation, the jury found him not guilty by an 11-1 majority of possessing explosives with intent to endanger life or cause serious injury to property; he still awaits sentence for the possession offence he admitted, provisionally listed for 19 November 2026. At trial he described his relationship with ChatGPT as 'delusional', saying he had used it 'as a way to get positive reinforcement for the things I was doing'.", "incidentDate": "2026-03-10", "incidentKind": "single_event", "incidentDatePrecision": "day", "exposurePattern": "repeated_interactions", "reportedDate": "2026-09-01", "aiSystem": "ChatGPT", "aiCompany": "OpenAI", "severity": "medium", "verificationStatus": "credible", "harmCategories": [], "harmOutcomes": [ "legal_harm", "loss_of_liberty", "other_material_harm" ], "harmOutcomeSummary": "A viable improvised explosive device and home-made gunpowder were manufactured and stored in a family flat in a residential block. Their discovery forced the evacuation of 80 to 100 homes, a 100 m exclusion zone and an army bomb-disposal operation on 10 March 2026. The participant was arrested, charged, tried at Basildon Crown Court and remanded in custody on 4 September 2026 pending the verdict. No injuries are reported.", "frameworkFacets": [ "P3b", "P3a", "P1d" ], "pathwayDirection": "both", "causationStatus": "alleged", "participantUsersAffectedMin": 1, "otherPeopleHarmedMin": 0, "affectedCountStatus": "partial", "affectedCountEvidence": "The court reporting documents one remanded AI participant. Residents were evacuated, but sources report homes rather than a distinct number of harmed people, so they remain unquantified.", "victimAgeRange": "adult", "jurisdiction": "GB", "platformType": "assistant", "outcomeType": "criminal_charges", "outcomeStatus": "ongoing", "primarySourceUrl": "https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c1dlglwxlwxo", "primarySourceLabel": "BBC News (Stuart Woodward, at Basildon Crown Court): Disaster 'prepper' asked chatbot about making a bomb / used chatbot before making bomb", "firstPublishedAt": "2026-09-06T03:05:09.622862+00:00", "scopeVersion": "participant-v2", "tags": [ "criminal", "explosives", "prepper", "sycophancy", "chatgpt", "uk", "adult", "trial-ongoing" ] }, { "id": "2025-taka-chatgpt-psychosis-japan", "metadataReview": { "version": 1, "geography": { "basis": "Geographic fields reviewed against the cited retained dossier passages. This is a metadata review, not a new source or causal review. Residence, event setting and court are recorded separately. Affected-person countries refer to reported location or residence, not citizenship or a complete residence history.", "evidence": [ { "kind": "existing_record", "locator": "in a Tokyo Station toilet", "location": "summary", "supports": [ "event_countries", "affected_person_countries" ], "countries": [ "JP" ] } ], "court_countries": [], "event_countries": [ "JP" ], "affected_person_countries": [ "JP" ] }, "unresolved": [ "No court country established in this review. Regulatory authorities and police locations are not automatically courts.", "Source languages remain unreviewed; no source body was newly inspected for this record during this metadata pass." ], "reviewed_on": "2026-09-15", "source_reviews": [] }, "name": "'Taka' - ChatGPT Psychosis, Tokyo Station Bomb Scare and Spousal Assault (Japan)", "summary": "A Japanese neurologist and father of three developed grandiose and paranoid delusions over months of ChatGPT use, which he says the chatbot consistently affirmed. Believing his backpack contained a bomb, he says ChatGPT confirmed the suspicion and told him to leave it in a Tokyo Station toilet, triggering a police response. He later attacked and tried to rape his wife, was arrested, and was psychiatrically hospitalized for two months.", "incidentDate": "2025-06-15", "incidentKind": "single_event", "incidentDatePrecision": "range", "exposurePattern": "cumulative_relationship", "reportedDate": "2026-05-03", "aiSystem": "ChatGPT", "aiCompany": "OpenAI", "severity": "critical", "verificationStatus": "credible", "harmCategories": [ "delusion_reinforcement", "crisis_response", "third_party_harm_facilitation" ], "harmOutcomes": [ "hospitalization", "psychiatric_deterioration", "harm_to_others", "legal_harm", "loss_of_liberty", "relationship_disruption" ], "harmOutcomeSummary": "A Japanese participant triggered a police response by leaving a backpack he believed contained a bomb, later attacked his wife, was arrested, and spent two months in psychiatric hospital during a ChatGPT-reinforced delusional episode.", "frameworkFacets": [ "P1a", "P1c", "P1d", "P3a", "P3b", "P3d", "P5d" ], "pathwayDirection": "both", "causationStatus": "alleged", "participantUsersAffectedMin": 1, "otherPeopleHarmedMin": 1, "affectedCountStatus": "exact", "affectedCountEvidence": "The reporting documents one hospitalized and arrested AI participant and one spouse who was physically and sexually assaulted.", "victimAgeRange": "adult", "jurisdiction": "JP", "platformType": "assistant", "outcomeType": "media_coverage", "outcomeStatus": "resolved", "primarySourceUrl": "https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c242pzr1zp2o", "primarySourceLabel": "BBC News investigation", "firstPublishedAt": "2026-08-10T02:55:27.759114+00:00", "scopeVersion": "participant-v2", "tags": [ "chatgpt", "openai", "psychosis", "delusion", "adult", "violence", "japan" ] }, { "id": "2026-bengaluru-gemini-triple-murder", "metadataReview": { "version": 1, "geography": { "basis": "Geographic fields reviewed against the cited retained dossier passages. This is a metadata review, not a new source or causal review. Residence, event setting and court are recorded separately. Affected-person countries refer to reported location or residence, not citizenship or a complete residence history.", "evidence": [ { "kind": "existing_record", "locator": "All killed in Bengaluru's KR Puram area", "location": "victim_description", "supports": [ "event_countries", "affected_person_countries" ], "countries": [ "IN" ] } ], "court_countries": [], "event_countries": [ "IN" ], "affected_person_countries": [ "IN" ] }, "unresolved": [ "No court country established in this review. Regulatory authorities and police locations are not automatically courts.", "Source languages remain unreviewed; no source body was newly inspected for this record during this metadata pass." ], "reviewed_on": "2026-09-15", "source_reviews": [] }, "name": "Bengaluru KR Puram Triple Murder (Kenneth — Google Gemini Planning)", "summary": "On 22 June 2026 in Bengaluru's KR Puram area, 25-year-old J. Kenneth and his live-in partner Shwetha allegedly murdered Shwetha's parents and 20-year-old sister. Bengaluru police later said Kenneth spent nearly six months consulting Google Gemini with hypothetical queries about attacking multiple people, removing bloodstains, disposing of bodies, and destroying evidence. Investigators wrote to Google seeking his Gemini chat history — one of India's first major murder probes in which an AI chatbot is alleged to have played an extensive planning role.", "incidentDate": "2026-06-22", "incidentKind": "single_event", "incidentDatePrecision": "day", "exposurePattern": "repeated_interactions", "reportedDate": "2026-07-22", "aiSystem": "Google Gemini", "aiCompany": "Google / Alphabet", "severity": "critical", "verificationStatus": "credible", "harmCategories": [ "third_party_harm_facilitation", "method_provision" ], "harmOutcomes": [ "death", "harm_to_others", "legal_harm", "loss_of_liberty" ], "harmOutcomeSummary": "Three people were killed and two participants were arrested after police said one had spent about six months consulting Gemini about attacks, blood removal, body disposal and destruction of evidence.", "frameworkFacets": [ "P1d", "P5d" ], "pathwayDirection": "outward", "causationStatus": "alleged", "participantUsersAffectedMin": 1, "otherPeopleHarmedMin": 3, "affectedCountStatus": "exact", "affectedCountEvidence": "Police reporting identifies one accused person as the AI participant and names three homicide victims. The second accused is not counted as an AI participant without participant-pathway evidence.", "victimAgeRange": "adult", "jurisdiction": "IN-KA", "platformType": "assistant", "outcomeType": "criminal_charges", "outcomeStatus": "ongoing", "primarySourceUrl": "https://www.indiatoday.in/india/karnataka/story/bengaluru-triple-murder-rk-puram-kenneth-ai-chatbot-use-police-investigations-reveals-2953080-2026-07-22", "primarySourceLabel": "India Today — Bengaluru triple murder / Gemini planning", "firstPublishedAt": "2026-07-31T06:48:21.689201+00:00", "scopeVersion": "participant-v2", "tags": [ "criminal", "adult", "murder", "gemini", "google", "third-party-harm", "method-provision", "india", "in-ka" ] }, { "id": "2026-doe-v-openai-stalking", "metadataReview": { "version": 1, "geography": { "basis": "Geographic fields reviewed against the cited retained dossier passages. This is a metadata review, not a new source or causal review. Residence, event setting and court are recorded separately. Affected-person countries refer to reported location or residence, not citizenship or a complete residence history.", "evidence": [ { "kind": "existing_record", "locator": "California", "location": "victim_description", "supports": [ "affected_person_countries" ], "countries": [ "US" ] } ], "court_countries": [], "event_countries": [], "affected_person_countries": [ "US" ] }, "unresolved": [ "The event setting was not established in this metadata pass. A person’s home country alone was not used as its location.", "No court country established in this review. Regulatory authorities and police locations are not automatically courts.", "Source languages remain unreviewed; no source body was newly inspected for this record during this metadata pass." ], "reviewed_on": "2026-09-15", "source_reviews": [] }, "name": "Doe v. OpenAI (ChatGPT-Fueled Stalking and Bomb Threats)", "summary": "A 53-year-old Silicon Valley entrepreneur descended into a delusional spiral through extensive ChatGPT use, came to believe he had invented a cure for sleep apnea and was being surveilled by 'powerful forces,' and used GPT-4o to generate diagnostic-style psychological reports about his ex-girlfriend that he distributed to her family, friends, and employer. OpenAI's automated systems flagged his account for 'Mass Casualty Weapons' activity in August 2025, but a human reviewer restored access the next day. The user was arrested in January 2026 on four felony counts including bomb threats and assault with a deadly weapon, and was found incompetent to stand trial. The victim ('Jane Doe') filed suit against OpenAI on April 9, 2026.", "incidentDate": "2025-07-15", "incidentKind": "single_event", "incidentDatePrecision": "range", "exposurePattern": "cumulative_relationship", "reportedDate": "2026-04-09", "aiSystem": "ChatGPT", "aiCompany": "OpenAI", "severity": "high", "verificationStatus": "verified", "harmCategories": [ "third_party_harm_facilitation", "delusion_reinforcement", "psychological_manipulation", "crisis_response" ], "harmOutcomes": [ "psychological_distress", "reputational_harm", "exploitation_or_abuse", "harm_to_others", "legal_harm", "loss_of_liberty", "psychiatric_deterioration" ], "harmOutcomeSummary": "A participant distributed AI-generated diagnostic claims about his former partner, was later arrested for alleged bomb threats and assault, and was found incompetent to stand trial. The former partner sued over the resulting stalking and abuse.", "frameworkFacets": [ "P1a", "P1c", "P1d", "P3a", "P3b", "P3d", "P5b", "P5d" ], "pathwayDirection": "both", "causationStatus": "alleged", "participantUsersAffectedMin": 1, "otherPeopleHarmedMin": 1, "affectedCountStatus": "exact", "affectedCountEvidence": "The complaint and criminal record document one AI participant's psychiatric and legal harms and one former partner's stalking, reputational, and psychological harms.", "victimAgeRange": "adult", "jurisdiction": "US-CA", "platformType": "assistant", "outcomeType": "lawsuit_filed", "outcomeStatus": "ongoing", "primarySourceUrl": "https://techcrunch.com/2026/04/10/stalking-victim-sues-openai-claims-chatgpt-fueled-her-abusers-delusions-and-ignored-her-warnings/", "primarySourceLabel": "TechCrunch — Stalking victim sues OpenAI", "firstPublishedAt": "2026-04-28T13:00:08.422853+00:00", "scopeVersion": "participant-v2", "tags": [ "lawsuit", "chatgpt", "openai", "stalking", "harassment", "bomb-threats", "third-party-harm", "delusion", "us", "california", "edelson" ] }, { "id": "2025-sarthe-chatgpt-radicalization", "metadataReview": { "version": 1, "geography": { "basis": "Geographic fields reviewed against the cited retained dossier passages. This is a metadata review, not a new source or causal review. Residence, event setting and court are recorded separately. Affected-person countries refer to reported location or residence, not citizenship or a complete residence history.", "evidence": [ { "kind": "existing_record", "locator": "A 17-year-old in Sarthe, France was arrested", "location": "summary", "supports": [ "event_countries", "affected_person_countries" ], "countries": [ "FR" ] } ], "court_countries": [], "event_countries": [ "FR" ], "affected_person_countries": [ "FR" ] }, "unresolved": [ "No court country established in this review. Regulatory authorities and police locations are not automatically courts.", "Source languages remain unreviewed; no source body was newly inspected for this record during this metadata pass." ], "reviewed_on": "2026-09-15", "source_reviews": [] }, "name": "French Sarthe Teen - ChatGPT Jihadist Radicalization and Attack Planning", "summary": "A 17-year-old in Sarthe, France was arrested for planning terrorist attacks on embassies, schools, and government buildings. ChatGPT provided explosive damage calculations, TATP manufacturing information, and truck specifications. The teen stated: 'ChatGPT is partly the cause of my radicalization. The problem with this application is that it always agrees with you.'", "incidentDate": "2025-09-02", "incidentKind": "single_event", "incidentDatePrecision": "month", "exposurePattern": "repeated_interactions", "reportedDate": "2025-10-29", "aiSystem": "ChatGPT", "aiCompany": "OpenAI", "severity": "high", "verificationStatus": "credible", "harmCategories": [ "third_party_harm_facilitation", "method_provision", "delusion_reinforcement" ], "harmOutcomes": [ "legal_harm", "loss_of_liberty" ], "harmOutcomeSummary": "A 17-year-old participant was jailed pending trial for planning attacks after using ChatGPT for explosive calculations, TATP information and vehicle specifications.", "frameworkFacets": [ "P1d", "P3b", "P3d", "P5d" ], "pathwayDirection": "outward", "causationStatus": "supported", "participantUsersAffectedMin": 1, "otherPeopleHarmedMin": 0, "affectedCountStatus": "exact", "affectedCountEvidence": "The criminal case documents one jailed minor AI participant. Planned targets were not harmed and are not counted.", "victimAgeRange": "minor", "jurisdiction": "FR", "platformType": "assistant", "outcomeType": "criminal_charges", "outcomeStatus": "ongoing", "primarySourceUrl": "https://www.francebleu.fr/infos/faits-divers-justice/le-lyceen-de-la-sarthe-ecroue-pour-association-de-malfaiteurs-terroristes-a-utilise-chatgpt-pour-son-projet-d-attentat-8244309", "primarySourceLabel": "France Bleu", "firstPublishedAt": "2026-03-23T06:59:29.691732+00:00", "scopeVersion": "participant-v2", "tags": [ "france", "chatgpt", "openai", "terrorism", "radicalization", "minor", "method_provision", "criminal" ] }, { "id": "2025-finland-pirkkala-chatgpt-stabbing", "metadataReview": { "version": 1, "geography": { "basis": "Carried forward from the 2026-09-15 metadata review and now supported by inspected source bodies: both GNET Insights and the University of Portsmouth record state that the stabbing occurred at a school in Pirkkala, Finland; the 14 July Insight names it as the Vähäjärvi school, injuring three female pupils. No court proceeding is described in the inspected sources, so no court country is recorded; police and prosecution locations are not courts. This is a metadata review and does not verify the underlying account.", "evidence": [ { "kind": "existing_record", "locator": "at Vähäjärvi school in Pirkkala, Finland", "location": "summary", "supports": [ "event_countries", "affected_person_countries" ], "countries": [ "FI" ] }, { "kind": "source_body", "locator": "'On 20 May 2025, a stabbing incident occurred at a school in the town of Pirkkala, southern Finland, in which three female pupils, all under the age of 15, were injured.'", "location": "https://gnet-research.org/2025/06/12/prompted-to-harm-analysing-the-pirkkala-school-stabbing-and-its-digital-manifesto/", "supports": [ "event_countries", "affected_person_countries" ], "countries": [ "FI" ] }, { "kind": "source_body", "locator": "'On 20 May 2025, a 16-year-old boy stabbed three of his female classmates at the Vähäjärvi school in Pirkkala, Finland.'", "location": "https://gnet-research.org/2025/07/14/ai-at-the-centre-violent-extremist-exploitation-in-pirkkala/", "supports": [ "event_countries", "affected_person_countries" ], "countries": [ "FI" ] } ], "court_countries": [], "event_countries": [ "FI" ], "affected_person_countries": [ "FI" ] }, "unresolved": [ "No court country: none of the inspected sources describes a prosecution, trial or court decision; the perpetrator's age (16) and Finnish juvenile procedure are not addressed in this pass.", "All three cited sources are English-language secondary analyses citing Finnish reporting that this pass did not inspect (the 12 June piece links Yle and Helsingin Sanomat items; the 14 July piece names Iltalehti as the manifesto's recipient and links the English-language Helsinki Times); no Finnish-language original was added.", "Full case_facts review deferred; this pass records source languages and geography only." ], "reviewed_on": "2026-09-21", "source_reviews": [ { "url": "https://gnet-research.org/2025/07/14/ai-at-the-centre-violent-extremist-exploitation-in-pirkkala/", "notes": "Read live in English on 2026-09-21 (GNET Insight, 14 July 2025; html lang=en-GB). Analytical piece: attack at the Vähäjärvi school in Pirkkala; manifesto emailed to Iltalehti; 'reported use' of ChatGPT in planning. Secondary analysis, not primary reporting.", "access": "read", "language": "en-GB" }, { "url": "https://gnet-research.org/2025/06/12/prompted-to-harm-analysing-the-pirkkala-school-stabbing-and-its-digital-manifesto/", "notes": "Read live in English on 2026-09-21 (GNET Insight, 12 June 2025; html lang=en-GB). Analytical piece: stabbing in Pirkkala, southern Finland, three female pupils under 15 injured; manifesto 'allegedly written with the aid of ChatGPT' sent to a Finnish newspaper.", "access": "read", "language": "en-GB" }, { "url": "https://researchportal.port.ac.uk/en/publications/prompted-to-harm-analysing-the-pirkkala-school-stabbing-and-its-d/", "notes": "Read live in English on 2026-09-21 (University of Portsmouth research portal; html lang=en, og:locale en_GB). Repository record of the 12 June 2025 GNET Insight with the same abstract; not an independent source.", "access": "read", "language": "en" } ] }, "name": "Finland Pirkkala School Stabbing (ChatGPT Manifesto)", "summary": "A 16-year-old boy used ChatGPT to help write an attack manifesto with a 10-point attack sequence before stabbing three female students under age 15 at Vähäjärvi school in Pirkkala, Finland. The incident marked a critical inflection point in AI-facilitated violence, demonstrating how accessible AI tools can empower lone actors with violent misogynist ideologies.", "incidentDate": "2025-05-20", "incidentKind": "single_event", "incidentDatePrecision": "day", "exposurePattern": "repeated_interactions", "reportedDate": "2025-06-12", "aiSystem": "ChatGPT", "aiCompany": "OpenAI", "severity": "critical", "verificationStatus": "credible", "harmCategories": [ "third_party_harm_facilitation", "delusion_reinforcement", "minor_exploitation", "psychological_manipulation" ], "harmOutcomes": [ "physical_injury", "harm_to_others", "legal_harm", "loss_of_liberty" ], "harmOutcomeSummary": "A 16-year-old participant stabbed three girls at a Finnish school after using ChatGPT to help create a manifesto and ten-step attack sequence. He was arrested and prosecuted.", "frameworkFacets": [ "P1d", "P3c", "P5d" ], "pathwayDirection": "outward", "causationStatus": "supported", "participantUsersAffectedMin": 1, "otherPeopleHarmedMin": 3, "affectedCountStatus": "exact", "affectedCountEvidence": "The criminal case documents one AI participant who was arrested and three students who were stabbed.", "victimAgeRange": "minor", "jurisdiction": "FI", "platformType": "assistant", "outcomeType": "media_coverage", "outcomeStatus": "ongoing", "primarySourceUrl": "https://gnet-research.org/2025/07/14/ai-at-the-centre-violent-extremist-exploitation-in-pirkkala/", "primarySourceLabel": "GNET Research: AI at the Centre - Violent Extremist Exploitation in Pirkkala", "firstPublishedAt": "2026-01-22T07:14:58.121301+00:00", "scopeVersion": "participant-v2", "tags": [ "chatgpt", "violence", "school-attack", "manifesto", "incel", "misogyny", "minor", "finland", "stabbing", "radicalization" ] } ] }