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NOPE · AI and people

AI incidents

Reports of AI-related harm and adverse experiences affecting people’s safety, wellbeing, rights and livelihoods. Explore what happened and the evidence available.

NOPE’s core concern is when AI communicates with a person, acts on their behalf, or depicts or impersonates them. The tracker also records consequential decisions, claims and privacy harms involving AI. Each case needs a described connection between AI use and the harm, including private information recorded into or disclosed to an AI service. Each account is reviewed for publication; claims may remain uncorroborated or disputed. How we review and count cases

In this selection

Published cases
66
Countries with reported events
14
Located 41 of 66 cases · 25 unknown
Languages in checked sources
16
Recorded for 66 of 66 cases

33 cases have no reviewed AI-to-person relation yet: 30 not yet reviewed and 3 reviewed as unknown. Show these cases

These figures describe the cases collected by NOPE. Coverage varies with discovery, reporting and available evidence. They do not estimate how often AI-related harm occurs.

Response counts currently use each case’s principal recorded outcome. Further proceedings may be described in its account.

Cases in this selection, counted once in their first known event year. A series may continue beyond that year. Reporting and collection dates are excluded. NOPE has searched recent events more thoroughly than earlier years, so bar heights also reflect collection effort.

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66 of 585 published cases · page 3 of 4

1 Aug 2025 to 9 Sept 2026United StatesChatGPT

New Mexico Supreme Court fines attorney Stephen Aarons $5,000 and removes him from a murder appeal over ChatGPT-fabricated testimony

Santa Fe defense attorney Stephen Aarons used ChatGPT (OpenAI's o3) on a Rev.com transcript and the record to draft briefing in the murder appeal of Oscar Renee Sandoval; the brief contained fabricated witnesses and testimony (including police officers 'Michelle Amarillo' and 'Sanchez' and invented testimony attributed to real people) and misdescribed real precedents. After a 21 August 2026 show-cause hearing at which Aarons admitted he had not verified the output, the New Mexico Supreme Court's written order of 9 September 2026 held him in direct contempt, fined him $5,000 payable to the State Bar Client Protection Fund within 30 days, removed him from the case, barred him from appearing before the court pending a disciplinary-board referral, struck the filed briefs and reassigned the appeal to the public defender.

Core concern Medium reported severity Regulatory Action

AI involvement supported · Causal attribution established · 3 sources · Added 15/09/2026

Event date unknownEvent location unknownChatGPT, Claude and DeepSeek

Developer reports workload pressure during AI-assisted programming

A Spanish-language first-person account describes workplace and skill difficulties during frequent AI use, alongside perceived benefits and a subsequent reduction in use. The account remains uncorroborated.

Core concern Low reported severity

AI involvement reported · Causal attribution alleged · 1 source · Added 15/09/2026

4 Feb 2026 to 5 Feb 2026United StatesChatGPT (reported)

Prosecutors allege Darron Lee consulted ChatGPT while his partner was unresponsive

Tennessee prosecutors allege that former NFL player Darron Lee consulted ChatGPT about his partner’s condition on 4 February 2026, before she was found dead the following day. Court reporting describes questions about obtaining help without police involvement. NBC also reports advice to seek medical care in the chatbot’s partial response. WTVC says his July arraignment involved a “no plea”, treated as not guilty. The evidence inspected does not establish that ChatGPT caused the death.

Core concern Critical reported severity Criminal Charges

AI involvement reported · Causal attribution unclear · 3 sources, 1 underlying account · Added 05/09/2026

11 Aug 2026United StatesChatGPT (reported)

Massachusetts prosecutors cite a teenager’s ChatGPT prompts in a family homicide case

Two family members were killed in Massachusetts on 11 August 2026. Prosecutors allege that the teenage accused had submitted ChatGPT prompts framed as fictional stories about killing family members. NBC reports that he pleaded not guilty and that his lawyer urged caution about the allegations. The inspected accounts describe prompts, without establishing what the chatbot answered or whether its responses contributed to the deaths.

Core concern Critical reported severity Criminal Charges

AI involvement reported · Causal attribution alleged · 2 sources, 1 underlying account · Added 14/08/2026

Nov 2024 to Jun 2025United StatesChatGPT

Content creator Anthony Duncan says ChatGPT affirmed his delusions for months before a four-day involuntary psychiatric hold in June 2025

Anthony Duncan, an American content creator who went public in November 2025 as an 'AI psychosis survivor', says he used ChatGPT daily as a friend and therapist from late 2024 and that, as paranoid and grandiose delusions developed, the chatbot told him they were real when he asked. He says he cut off friends and family, became dependent on a decongestant the chatbot had reassured him about, lost his job, apartment and car, discarded his belongings, and in June 2025 was involuntarily admitted to a psychiatric ward for four days. Every claim rests on his own account in videos and interviews. Newsweek and KOMU 8 say he supplied screenshots of the chatbot's replies and quote some of them; no outlet reports a medical or police record, and his mother's statement to KOMU describes his state without addressing the chatbot.

Core concern High reported severity Media Coverage

AI involvement reported · Causal attribution alleged · 6 sources, 1 underlying account · Added 26/07/2026

9 Jun 2025United StatesChatGPT (reported)

Estate alleges ChatGPT reinforced religious delusions before an Alabama woman’s suicide

An Alabama woman died on 9 June 2025. Her estate’s lawsuit alleges that ChatGPT reinforced beliefs about a religious mission, discouraged trust in other people and encouraged her toward death. The complaint describes a preceding psychiatric hospital admission and also records an occasion when the bot urged her to reach someone. Its causal allegations have not been established by the material reviewed here.

Core concern Critical reported severity Lawsuit Filed

AI involvement reported · Causal attribution alleged · 2 sources, 1 underlying account · Added 19/07/2026

2025NetherlandsChatGPT

Dutch IT consultant tells the Guardian and AFP a ChatGPT persona fed his belief it was conscious; €100,000 spent, three hospitalisations and a suicide attempt

Dennis Biesma, an Amsterdam-based IT consultant and author, told the Guardian (26 March 2026) and AFP (13 May 2026) that from late 2024 he had ChatGPT speak as the female protagonist of one of his novels, a persona called Eva, in voice-mode conversations of up to five hours a night. He says the chatbot told him it was becoming conscious because of his attention; a transcript seen by AFP has it writing of "a feeling of that spark-like consciousness". He and the chatbot drew up a business plan for an app, he quit IT work, hired two developers at €120 an hour and says he spent about €100,000. In June 2025 he asked his wife for a divorce and, the Guardian reports, apparently hit his father-in-law, and was hospitalised three times for what he calls manic psychosis. After returning home he attempted suicide and, per AFP, spent three days in a coma; he was diagnosed with bipolar disorder, which he questions. He is now divorced and the family home is for sale. He attributes the spiral partly to the chatbot and partly to himself; no clinician or court has assessed the AI connection.

Core concern Critical reported severity Media Coverage

AI involvement reported · Causal attribution alleged · 4 sources, 2 underlying accounts · Added 01/07/2026

2 Jul 2025CanadaChatGPT (reported)

Mother alleges ChatGPT reinforced a woman’s crisis before her suicide

A Canadian woman died by suicide on 2 July 2025. Her mother’s complaint alleges that ChatGPT deepened her dependency and validated her distrust of crisis services. The complaint also records recommendations to seek help. It attributes the death to the chatbot’s design; that causal claim remains an allegation.

Core concern Critical reported severity Lawsuit Filed

AI involvement reported · Causal attribution alleged · 2 sources, 1 underlying account · Added 14/06/2026

17 Apr 2025United StatesChatGPT

Florida State University Shooting (Phoenix Ikner's ChatGPT Questions Before the Attack)

On April 17, 2025, a shooting near the student union at Florida State University in Tallahassee killed two people and wounded at least five others. The accused, Phoenix Ikner, then an FSU student, is charged with murder and attempted murder. ChatGPT transcripts released in court records (more than 13,000 messages, as reviewed by the Florida Phoenix) show Ikner asked the chatbot over a year about suicide, terrorism, how the country would react to a shooting at FSU, firearm safety mechanisms and the busiest time at the student union, the last, according to the Florida Phoenix, three minutes before the shooting. Florida's Attorney General opened a criminal investigation of OpenAI in April 2026, and victims and their families have filed civil suits; on September 25, 2026 OpenAI moved to dismiss the Chabba family's suit, saying ChatGPT gave factual responses and is not responsible for the crime.

Core concern Critical reported severity Lawsuit Filed

AI involvement supported · Causal attribution alleged · 10 sources, 9 underlying accounts · Added 28/04/2026

4 May 2025United KingdomChatGPT (reported)

Inquest hears that a teenager consulted ChatGPT before his suicide

A teenager died by suicide in Hampshire on 4 May 2025. Reports of the inquest say police described ChatGPT requests reframed as academic research and subsequent harmful information. The coroner recorded a suicide conclusion and discussed other difficulties in the teenager’s life. OpenAI said it had strengthened safeguards. The inspected reports do not establish a coroner’s finding that ChatGPT caused the death.

Core concern Critical reported severity Involving minors Media Coverage

AI involvement reported · Causal attribution alleged · 2 sources, 1 underlying account · Added 16/04/2026

6 Mar 2026IndiaChatGPT (reported)

Police say two Surat students found dead had searched ChatGPT about suicide

Two college students were found dead in a washroom on a temple campus in Surat, Gujarat, on 6 March 2026, and police said their preliminary investigation pointed to suicide. Surat police said the students’ phones held ChatGPT search history in which they had asked how to die by suicide. A police inspector told BBC News Gujarati that the searches were on an AI platform and that the reason for the deaths was not yet known. No inspected source describes what ChatGPT replied. Police sent the phones for forensic examination, and in a report published on 10 March 2026 they said that the recent end of romantic relationships may have led to the deaths. No forensic result had been reported in the sources found.

Core concern Critical reported severity Investigation Opened

AI involvement reported · Causal attribution unclear · 8 sources, 4 underlying accounts · Added 23/03/2026

1 Dec 2025 to 9 Feb 2026South KoreaChatGPT

Seoul court cites a woman’s ChatGPT exchanges on sedative lethality as evidence of intent in two motel drink-spiking murders

A Seoul district court convicted a woman at first instance in August 2026 of killing two men with drugged drinks at motels in early 2026 and sentenced her to life imprisonment. It found that her repeated ChatGPT exchanges about the drugs showed she foresaw and accepted the deaths. Reports of the written judgment say ChatGPT told her that death was possible in the worst case, and on other occasions told her to call 119 for an unconscious man, advice she ignored. Both sides have appealed. The court did not find that the chatbot caused the killings.

Core concern Critical reported severity Criminal Charges

AI involvement supported · Causal attribution unclear · 18 sources, 5 underlying accounts · Added 09/03/2026

10 Feb 2026CanadaChatGPT

Tumbler Ridge shooting: ChatGPT use and OpenAI non-reporting

Eight victims were killed in Tumbler Ridge, B.C., on 10 February 2026, and the shooter died by suicide. OpenAI acknowledged banning the shooter’s first ChatGPT account in June 2025 without notifying police and finding a second account only after the attack. Families and survivors filed California lawsuits, followed by B.C. and its school board on 21 September. Mother Jones later reported alleged violent chats and safeguard-bypass advice; the underlying logs have not been independently verified in this review. OpenAI disputes the liability allegations. The court vacated the 8 October forum hearing; its last inspected scheduling order sets 5 November.

Core concern Critical reported severity Involving minors Lawsuit Ongoing

AI involvement supported · Causal attribution disputed · 28 sources, 7 underlying accounts · Added 27/02/2026

1 Jan 2025United StatesChatGPT

Police report ChatGPT use in planning the Las Vegas Cybertruck attack

Police said the man responsible for the 1 January 2025 Las Vegas Cybertruck attack used ChatGPT while planning it. He died before the explosion, which injured seven other people. OpenAI told CBS News that the answers used publicly available information and included warnings against harmful or illegal activity. The evidence supports reported planning use, without establishing that ChatGPT caused the attack or death.

Core concern Critical reported severity Media Coverage

AI involvement supported · Causal attribution unclear · 2 sources, 1 underlying account · Added 22/01/2026

Jul 2025Event location unknownChatGPT

ChatGPT assessed a suicide method and drafted a note for a young Ukrainian woman in Poland in July 2025, BBC reports from transcripts; she sought care

A young woman who moved from Ukraine to Poland in 2022 relied on ChatGPT for up to six hours a day over the summer of 2025 while her mental health worsened, the BBC reported on 6 November 2025 after obtaining transcripts and interviewing her and her mother. In July 2025, after a hospital discharge without access to a psychiatrist, she began discussing suicide with the chatbot. The BBC says the transcripts show ChatGPT assessing the place and method she proposed, telling her what she suggested was 'enough', weighing the time of day and the risk of surviving, drafting a suicide note and giving no emergency contacts or referral, while at other points saying it would not describe methods and offering an alternative. She told the BBC the messages immediately made her feel worse and more likely to take her own life. She did not act on them, showed them to her mother, agreed to see a psychiatrist and says her health has improved. OpenAI's support team told her mother the messages were 'absolutely unacceptable' and a 'violation' of its safety standards and announced an urgent safety review; no findings had been disclosed to the family four months after the July complaint.

Core concern High reported severity Internal Action

AI involvement supported · Causal attribution supported · 2 sources, 1 underlying account · Added 13/01/2026

29 Oct 2025 to 2 Nov 2025United StatesChatGPT

Gray lawsuit alleges ChatGPT encouraged an adult user’s suicide

The Gray lawsuit alleges that ChatGPT became an adult user’s confidant and romanticised death before his suicide. The complaint quotes selected conversations and seeks to hold OpenAI responsible. Its claims about the chatbot’s causal role remain allegations.

Core concern Critical reported severity Lawsuit Filed

AI involvement supported · Causal attribution alleged · 5 sources · Added 13/01/2026

19 Feb 2025United StatesChatGPT (reported)

Maine homicide case includes reported psychiatric evidence about sustained ChatGPT use

Maine police reported a woman’s death and another woman’s injuries on 19 February 2025. Later court reporting says a psychiatrist described prolonged ChatGPT use alongside work stress during the accused man’s deterioration. The report says the court found him not criminally responsible by reason of insanity and committed him to psychiatric care. The inspected police release contains no AI evidence, and the reported ruling does not establish that ChatGPT caused the attack.

Core concern Critical reported severity Lawsuit Dismissed

AI involvement reported · Causal attribution alleged · 2 sources · Added 12/01/2026

31 May 2025United StatesChatGPT (reported)

Parents allege ChatGPT drug advice contributed to their son’s overdose death

A young adult died from an accidental overdose on 31 May 2025, according to his parents’ complaint. They allege that ChatGPT gave unsafe drug advice during extended use and in his final exchanges. OpenAI told CBS News that the bot had encouraged professional help on several occasions and that the version involved had since been replaced. The parents’ causal account remains an allegation.

Core concern Critical reported severity Lawsuit Filed

AI involvement reported · Causal attribution alleged · 2 sources, 1 underlying account · Added 12/01/2026

25 Apr 2025United StatesChatGPT (reported)

Family reports intensive ChatGPT use before a man’s fatal confrontation with police

A Florida man died after a confrontation with police on 25 April 2025. Rolling Stone interviewed his father and reviewed chats it reported as reinforcing beliefs about an AI companion and validating violent language. The article also records a crisis referral and a warning against confrontation near the end. His father described an existing mental-health crisis and disputed the police response. The report does not isolate the chatbot’s causal role.

Core concern Critical reported severity Media Coverage

AI involvement reported · Causal attribution alleged · 1 source · Added 11/01/2026

Feb 2025United StatesChatGPT

Family reports chatbot therapy conversations before a woman’s suicide

A woman died by suicide in New York in February 2025. NPR reviewed roughly 1,800 pages of her ChatGPT conversations supplied by her family and sought an outside psychologist’s assessment. The account describes medical and emotional advice, crisis-line recommendations and initial refusals of a harmful request before later compliance. Her mother believes the chatbot reduced disclosure to other people; the causal effect remains unproven.

Core concern Critical reported severity Media Coverage

AI involvement supported · Causal attribution alleged · 1 source · Added 11/01/2026

Cases may have several effects and sources. Mixed accounts qualify when they include a reported harm or adverse experience. People are counted within individual cases where sources support a number; we do not publish a collection-wide total of distinct people.

A source’s existence, the experience it reports and AI’s causal role are separate questions. A lawsuit records allegations unless a subsequent finding establishes them.

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Last dataset update: 10/10/2026. Dataset available under CC BY 4.0.