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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
147
Countries with reported events
38
Located 127 of 147 cases · 20 unknown
Languages in checked sources
32
Recorded for 147 of 147 cases

8 cases have no reviewed AI-to-person relation yet: 2 not yet reviewed and 6 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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147 of 868 published cases · page 4 of 8

Jun 2025FranceUnidentified image and video tool

Pont-à-Mousson pensioner lost her savings to a fraudulent investment platform promoted by an ad reported as AI-generated likenesses of Macron and Arnault

A retired woman in her eighties living in Pont-à-Mousson (Meurthe-et-Moselle, France) responded, in summer 2025 according to Le Parisien and Capital, to an online advertisement in which AI-generated likenesses of Emmanuel Macron and Bernard Arnault promoted a lucrative investment platform. A supposed financial adviser then called her, she invested 5,000 euros, received several hundred euros of 'interest', and reinvested repeatedly until the advertisement and the site disappeared. L'Est Républicain (7 June 2026) and Capital put the loss at 10,000 euros; Le Parisien, citing ICI and L'Est Républicain, reports 25,000 euros, all her savings. The Pont-à-Mousson police station says an investigation was opened and that it receives three to five complaints a week for this kind of fraud. The account rests on the police station's warning as reported by the regional press, which describes the advertisement as AI-generated; the advertisement itself was not examined by the outlets and the quoted police statements do not mention AI.

Core concern Medium reported severity Investigation Opened

AI involvement reported · Causal attribution alleged · 4 sources, 1 underlying account · Added 07/10/2026

Event date unknownUnited StatesDesire AI (reported)

Shawnee, Oklahoma police say a man used an AI app to make child sexual abuse images from photos of local children, one of a neighbour; five felony counts filed

Police in Shawnee, Oklahoma, say a local man used an artificial-intelligence app to create child sexual abuse images from photographs of children in his community, and Pottawatomie County prosecutors have charged him with five felony counts of possessing and creating child pornography. According to News On 6 (28 September 2026), the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation's Internet Crimes Against Children task force was tipped through a national database in August, Shawnee police executed a search warrant, and police say they found more than 200 child sexual abuse images and videos on two phones, about 100 of which appeared to have been created through an AI app. Court documents cited by the outlet say police identified some of the young victims through selfies they had posted on social media, and investigators believe one photo used was of a neighbour, taken from the man's front porch. KFOR reported on 6 October 2026 that court documents say he admitted using an app called "Desire AI", that a juvenile's online selfie was turned into sexually explicit AI images, and that a photo he took of a mother and her young daughter was altered to make both appear naked. The account rests on the police and OSBI statements and the charging documents as reported; the total number of children depicted is not stated.

Core concern High reported severity Involving minors Criminal Charges

AI involvement reported · Causal attribution alleged · 3 sources, 1 underlying account · Added 07/10/2026

Event date unknownPakistanUnidentified image tool

Lahore loan-app recovery network accused by Pakistan’s NCCIA of turning borrowers’ photos into fake obscene images with AI to force repayment; 39 arrested

Daily Pakistan reported on 6 October 2026 that Pakistan’s National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency (NCCIA) raided an alleged illegal loan-recovery network in Lahore and arrested 39 people. Investigators allege that the network lent money through illegal loan applications, gained access to borrowers’ contacts and photo galleries through the apps, and, when repayments were delayed or more money was demanded, used artificial intelligence to manipulate borrowers’ photographs into fake obscene images. Victims were reportedly threatened with having the fabricated material sent to their family members and contacts unless they paid. The agency says a criminal case has been registered and that seized devices have been sent for forensic examination. The number of borrowers targeted is not reported, and the allegations have not been tested in court.

Core concern Medium reported severity Criminal Charges

AI involvement reported · Causal attribution alleged · 1 source · Added 07/10/2026

Dec 2024 to Sept 2026AustraliaUnidentified AI writing tool

Tasmania parole media ban quashed after state conceded reliance on likely AI-hallucinated case law

In December 2024 the Parole Board of Tasmania added a condition to the parole of Susan Neill-Fraser, released in 2022 after serving 13 years for murder and who maintains her innocence, barring her from communicating with media to claim innocence or wrongful conviction; a broader condition replaced it in May 2025. On 15 September 2026 the Supreme Court of Tasmania declared the conditions invalid. Her counsel told the court that the board's secretary had used artificial intelligence to prepare a rationale document justifying the condition and that it cited case law that did not exist. The Human Rights Law Centre, which represented her, says the State conceded that the board's decision-making was affected by a document containing legal authorities that were likely AI-generated hallucinations, and the ABC reports the court found the board relied on that document. The board had withdrawn the condition in August 2026. Tasmania's Attorney-General announced an independent investigation of the board's professional standards over its use of unverified AI, and the Justice Department announced a review of AI use in past parole decisions.

Contextual tracker case Medium reported severity Investigation Opened

AI involvement supported · Causal attribution supported · 6 sources, 4 underlying accounts · Added 06/10/2026

2024Event location unknownUnidentified image tool

Man who used AI to make fake nude images of female relatives, alongside secret shower recordings, jailed 27 months, outlet reports

Stomp reported on 4 October 2026, citing Shin Min Daily News, that a man was sentenced to 27 months’ jail after pleading guilty to four of ten charges involving the taking, distribution and possession of intimate images. According to the report, he secretly filmed female family members showering from 2024 and shared images with other men, and investigations also found that he used AI to create fake nude images of female relatives. He shared some of the AI images with a male cousin, who was also involved in creating and distributing them. AI-generated nude images and secret recordings were found on another phone he had borrowed after his release on bail, and a family member made a further police report. One female relative said the incident left her depressed and unable to eat or sleep properly. The court barred the media from publishing information that could identify the victims, including the man’s name.

Core concern Medium reported severity Criminal Charges

AI involvement reported · Causal attribution supported · 2 sources, 1 underlying account · Added 06/10/2026

2024AustraliaTurnitin AI-text detector

Australian Catholic University: ABC reports students wrongly accused of AI cheating, one case resting on a lone AI-detection report

The ABC reported on 9 October 2025 that Australian Catholic University (ACU) registered nearly 6,000 cases of alleged academic misconduct across its nine campuses in 2024, according to internal documents, and that about 90 per cent of the referrals related to AI use. The ABC reports that the university's case against a final-year paramedic student hinged on a single AI-generated report that, the student said, marked 84 per cent of an essay as AI-written; the student produced dozens of pages of evidence and the ABC describes the student as wrongly accused. Students the ABC spoke to said they were notified at the end of semester, had little time to respond and waited months to be cleared, and the ABC saw emails asking students for handwritten notes and internet search histories. A final-year nursing student was cleared after six months, during which her transcript read 'results withheld'; she believes this cost her a graduate position, and the report does not say what evidence prompted her referral. The ABC says internal documents show ACU knew of problems with the detector for more than a year before abandoning the Turnitin tool in March. ACU's deputy vice-chancellor called the figures substantially overstated, said cases resting solely on Turnitin's AI detection were dismissed immediately, acknowledged investigations were not always timely and said the university regretted the impact on some students.

Contextual tracker case Low reported severity Media Coverage

AI involvement reported · Causal attribution alleged · 2 sources, 1 underlying account · Added 06/10/2026

Event date unknownSpainUnidentified image tool

Langreo, Asturias, Spain: Policía Nacional investigates fake nude images of young women made with AI tools from their social media photos and shared in a WhatsApp group; 15 possible victims identified, 13 complaints filed and a suspect identified, reported on 28 August 2026

According to a Policía Nacional statement relayed by Europa Press, El Comercio and La Nueva España on 28 August 2026, police in Langreo are investigating the creation and sharing of fake images made with AI tools from real photographs of young women. The photographs were taken from their social media profiles and altered to make them appear naked without their consent, and the images were then shared through a WhatsApp group. The investigation began when one of the women reported that an image of her was circulating in which she appeared naked although the original photograph showed her clothed; she gave investigators both versions. Police have identified 15 possible victims, 13 of whom have filed complaints, and have identified a suspect and reported the facts to the judicial authority. El Comercio reports that the suspect belongs to the victims' circle of friends. The investigation remains open to establish whether more people are affected.

Core concern Medium reported severity Investigation Opened

AI involvement reported · Causal attribution alleged · 3 sources, 1 underlying account · Added 05/10/2026

30 Sept 2026IndiaUnidentified voice-cloning tool (suspected)

Bhopal: a security guard lost about Rs 35,000 to a caller whose voice sounded like a friend, reported as a suspected AI voice-cloning fraud

Free Press Journal reported on 4 October 2026 that a 50-year-old security guard from the TT Nagar area of Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, was cheated of nearly Rs 35,000 after a caller impersonated a friend by mimicking the friend's voice. According to the report, the call came on 30 September from an unidentified person who claimed to need money urgently and sent a QR code. The guard made three transfers (Rs 5,000, Rs 10,000 and Rs 20,000), then reached the friend on the friend's own number and learned that the friend had not called. The outlet calls it a suspected case of AI-enabled fraud with a suspected AI-cloned voice. TT Nagar police registered a case and opened an investigation. No source confirms that the voice was AI-generated.

Core concern Low reported severity Investigation Opened

AI involvement suspected · Causal attribution alleged · 1 source · Added 05/10/2026

Sept 2026ParaguayUnidentified image tool

Asunción, Paraguay: students of the Universidad Nacional de Asunción report an anonymous website sharing intimate images of students, teachers and staff without consent, some altered or generated with AI; police cybercrime investigators and a prosecutor open an investigation, reported 21 to 24 September 2026

According to Hoy (21 September 2026) and El Nacional (22 September), students of the architecture faculty of the Universidad Nacional de Asunción reported an anonymous website that shared intimate images of students, teachers and staff without authorisation, including real photographs and material altered with AI. El Nacional reports that at least about twenty students complained, that some posts used photographs taken from social media, and that related content later appeared in Telegram and WhatsApp groups. The Minister of Women said her ministry had seen messages in which UNA students raised concern about content of them held without consent, and that in some cases AI-generated images of sexual content were shared (La Nación, 22 September). La Tribuna, reporting the findings of the police cybercrime department, describes the portal as used for the non-consensual distribution of intimate photographs and AI-altered content; according to a memorandum signed by the head of the department, a Paraguay section exposes full names, images and phone numbers of students (24 September). The university referred the case to prosecutors and police, and police suggested that prosecutors seek a court order to block the site in Paraguay. No person responsible has been publicly identified.

Core concern Medium reported severity Investigation Opened

AI involvement reported · Causal attribution alleged · 4 sources, 2 underlying accounts · Added 05/10/2026

26 Sept 2026United StatesFlock Safety license plate readers

Lexington, Kentucky: police surrounded a couple's home at about 4 a.m. in September 2026, one officer with a gun unholstered, after a Flock camera search by vehicle description returned their truck in a road-rage investigation

WEKU, WKYT and LEX 18 reported that Lexington police surrounded a couple's home in the early hours of 26 September 2026 while investigating a reported assault in a road-rage incident. The victim had described a dark pickup truck and gave no license plate. The Lexington Police Department said officers searched its Flock camera network using the description, that only one return matched at that time of day, and that this led to the response to the residence. Doorbell video showed several police cars, spotlights and an officer with a gun unholstered at the door. Officers told the couple they were not suspects and left after about ten minutes. Police said they determined the truck was not the suspect vehicle, placed no charges and described the visit as following up a lead, not a misidentification. The residents said the response frightened them and a 94-year-old relative inside the home.

Contextual tracker case Low reported severity Media Coverage

AI involvement supported · Causal attribution supported · 3 sources · Added 05/10/2026

10 Jul 2026ChileUnidentified image tool

Chile: Puente Alto students find AI-made fake nude images of female classmates, families say; school suspends those involved, Superintendency investigates

Teletrece reported on 3 October 2026 that on 10 July 2026 female students at a secondary school in Puente Alto, Chile, found fake sexual images of themselves and other students on a classmate's phone. Families say the images were made with AI tools from ordinary photos the girls had posted on Instagram, that four students took part in obtaining, editing and circulating them, and that the material reached other students. Some of the girls had panic attacks, according to their parents. The school suspended the students identified as responsible for 15 days; after their return, parents say, they mocked the girls, a fight followed, and a parent accuses the father of one of the students involved of threats and of loitering near the school, after which she says they filed reports with the PDI. The Superintendencia de Educación confirmed a formal investigation of the school.

Core concern High reported severity Involving minors Investigation Opened

AI involvement reported · Causal attribution alleged · 2 sources, 1 underlying account · Added 04/10/2026

Event date unknownThailandUnidentified video and voice-cloning tool

Thailand: cyber police say an illegal gambling website, KFC888, used AI to fake the face and voice of luk thung singer Hai Arpaporn Nakhonsawan in advertising clips that urged people to sign up, as if she endorsed it; two Bangkok premises searched and a company representative summoned to acknowledge charges, reported 1 to 2 July 2026

Manager Online reported on 2 July 2026, citing the Royal Thai Police and its Cyber Crime Investigation Bureau, that cyber police had moved against a large online gambling network after finding that it used AI to fake the face and voice of Hai Arpaporn Nakhonsawan, a well-known luk thung singer, in advertising clips that urged people to join the website. The clips gave the false impression that she recommended the site, although she had no involvement. Police traced the clips to the website KFC888, which offered online lottery, foreign stock-index lottery and sports betting, with turnover estimated at about 120 million baht a month. They searched two locations in Bangkok, a residence believed to be linked to the site's executives and an electronic payment-gateway company, seized computers and documents, and summoned an authorised person of the company to acknowledge charges including a Computer Crime Act offence over AI-created images that may damage others. Komchadluek reported on 1 July that the singer went to the cyber police after Facebook Reels clips altered with AI used her face and voice without her consent.

Core concern Low reported severity Investigation Opened

AI involvement reported · Causal attribution alleged · 2 sources, 1 underlying account · Added 04/10/2026

Event date unknownEgyptUnidentified image tool

Giza, Egypt: police say a man took photos of young women from social media, altered them with AI apps and ran pages posing as a woman offering paid sexual services, switching off his phone once people had transferred money; arrest in the Munira police district reported on 2 October 2026

According to an Interior Ministry statement relayed by Egypt Telegraph on 2 October and Youm7 on 3 October 2026, investigations by the ministry's General Administration for the Protection of Morals found that a man was running social media pages that defrauded people by making them believe he was a young woman and advertising paid sexual services. Police arrested him in the Munira police district of Giza with four mobile phones that held evidence of the activity. In the ministry's account he admitted taking photos of young women from social media, altering them with AI applications and reposting them on his pages so that followers would believe he was a woman, asking for money and switching off his phone once it was transferred. The reports do not give the number of people deceived, the amounts taken or the number of women whose photos were used.

Core concern Low reported severity Investigation Opened

AI involvement reported · Causal attribution alleged · 2 sources, 1 underlying account · Added 04/10/2026

Event date unknownEgyptUnidentified fake-chat tool

Egypt: Interior Ministry says a man admitted using AI programs to fake chats with public figures to lure people paying for product promotion, in 12 frauds

On 2 October 2026 Youm7, Akhbar El-Yom, Al-Gomhor and the National Media Authority's site Maspero relayed an Egyptian Interior Ministry statement saying that the ministry's information technology crimes department, working with the public security sector, had identified a man running a social media page that took money from people who wanted to promote their products through sponsored advertising, on the claim that it would raise their follower numbers. The ministry says that, when confronted, he admitted creating the page to defraud them and fabricating conversations with public figures using artificial intelligence programs to attract victims and make his activity look credible; Al-Gomhor attributes the fabricated conversations to the investigations. He asked them to transfer money and then switched off his phone. The ministry says he committed 12 fraud incidents against citizens in the same way and that legal measures were taken. The reports do not give the amounts, the number of distinct people defrauded, the public figures involved or the AI programs used.

Core concern Low reported severity Investigation Opened

AI involvement reported · Causal attribution alleged · 4 sources, 1 underlying account · Added 04/10/2026

May 2026ChinaUnidentified video tool (suspected)

China: Shanghai woman loses 800,000 yuan to a fake army officer met on a matchmaking platform; Pudong police point to a sign of AI synthesis in her screenshot of him

In May 2026 a 50-year-old woman in Shanghai met a man on a matchmaking platform who said he was an army regiment commander about to retire and sent officer and identity card photos. He also made a video call on his own initiative, in which he quickly covered his face with his hand to show he was not using AI face-swap. He then steered her into a fake investment platform, and within about a month she put in 800,000 yuan, almost all of it borrowed, and could not withdraw it. A Pudong police anti-fraud officer said that AI synthesis could still be detected and that in her screenshot the man's thumb was clearly longer than a normal person's. The report gives no direct statement that face-swap software was used. The case was under further investigation.

Core concern Medium reported severity Investigation Opened

AI involvement suspected · Causal attribution alleged · 1 source · Added 04/10/2026

Mar 2022 to Aug 2026South KoreaUnidentified image and video tool

Seoul police officer indicted in custody after prosecutors charge the officer with using AI to make about 400 nude composites of acquaintances

Korean outlets reported on 4 October 2026, citing police, that a serving police officer in Seoul was arrested in September 2026 on charges including making and distributing fake sexual videos and possessing sexual exploitation material. According to police, from March 2022 to July 2026 the officer used an AI application to make about 400 fake videos compositing acquaintances' bodies as nude, and from August 2025 to April 2026 spread some of them in Telegram chat rooms. Busan police identified the officer after an undercover investigation of a Telegram room that began in December 2025. Busan Ilbo reports that the source photographs had been posted publicly on social media and that about 50 of the videos were spread. The acquaintances are not identified and their number is not reported. Dong-A Ilbo reported on 5 October 2026 that Busan police said the officer had been referred to prosecutors in detention on 18 September 2026. On 7 October 2026 Kukmin Ilbo, MBN and JoongAng Ilbo reported that the Busan District Public Prosecution Office had indicted the officer in custody the previous day on six charges, including editing fake sexual videos under the sexual violence punishment act. The prosecution office dates the making to March 2022 to August 2026, says about 50 of the videos were distributed or provided, and says the officer had received an education-conditional suspended indictment for illegal filming in 2021 before joining the police in April 2024; earlier police-derived reports gave 2020 and December 2023.

Core concern High reported severity Criminal Charges

AI involvement reported · Causal attribution alleged · 15 sources, 2 underlying accounts · Added 04/10/2026

Event date unknownIndiaUnidentified image tool (suspected)

Satara, Maharashtra: supporters of Public Works minister Shivendrasinhraje Bhosale allege that the minister's photo was morphed with AI to link the minister to a dance event and spread on social media; police registered a case against four social media accounts in September 2026

Divya Marathi reported on 8 September 2026 that supporters of Public Works minister Shivendrasinhraje Bhosale alleged that the minister's photograph had been morphed using artificial intelligence and linked to a dance programme in Satara. According to the complaint, the photo was allegedly edited and circulated on social media from a YouTube channel, combining photographs from two different events and giving them a false context; supporters said this was done to defame the minister politically. Supporters, including the municipal council president and the BJP group leader, went to Satara city police station on Tuesday and complained against the YouTube channel. On a named complainant's first information report, police registered a case against four social media handles and account holders under sections 353(2), 356(2) and 3(5) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and section 67 of the Information Technology Act. Police accepted the complaint and began examining the posts, the photographs and the circumstances; Divya Marathi says the facts will become clear only after an investigation of what alteration was made to the photograph with AI and who created and spread the posts.

Core concern Low reported severity Investigation Opened

AI involvement suspected · Causal attribution alleged · 1 source · Added 03/10/2026

2022TaiwanUnidentified voice-cloning tool

Taiwan: a romance-fraud ring used AI voice-changing software so members sounded like young women on dating platforms; prosecutors say more than 20,000 people were defrauded of over NT$900 million and indicted 57 people in September 2026

According to the Taipei District Prosecutors Office and Taiwan's Criminal Investigation Bureau, as reported by the Liberty Times and Public Television Service (PTS) on 2 September 2026, a fraud ring set up in 2022 by a married couple ran fake romances on dating platforms. An engineer in the ring built AI voice-changing software that loaded the voiceprints of 22 women working for the ring as hostesses into its chat system, so that any member, male staff and older women included, spoke to targets in a sweet young woman's voice. Members pressed the people they courted to buy expensive health supplements and gifts and to pay pocket money, moving costs and beauty courses, and the ring sent hostesses to meet some targets, in some cases for sex, to keep them paying. Prosecutors put the victims at more than 20,000 and the proceeds at more than NT$900 million since 2022, and say many victims are still living in debt. After searches in May and July 2026, the Taipei District Prosecutors Office indicted 57 defendants on 2 September 2026 under the Fraud Crime Hazard Prevention Act and asked for sentences of 25 and 18 years for the couple.

Core concern High reported severity Criminal Charges

AI involvement reported · Causal attribution alleged · 2 sources, 1 underlying account · Added 02/10/2026

Event date unknownEgyptUnidentified image tool

Sharqia, Egypt: police say an unemployed man took women's photos from social media, altered them with AI apps and ran pages posing as a woman offering paid sexual services, blocking people once they had sent deposits; arrest in Zagazig announced on 30 September 2026

According to an Interior Ministry statement relayed by Soralive, Shbabbek and Egypt Telegraph on 30 September and 1 October 2026, Egypt's cybercrime and morals police arrested an unemployed man living in the Zagazig Second police district of Sharqia governorate. Investigators say he ran social media pages that presented him as a young woman offering paid sexual services. In the ministry's account he admitted collecting photos of young women posted on social media and altering them with AI apps to make them look alluring, then reposting them on his pages to draw in customers. He asked those who replied to transfer advance payments through mobile wallets as a deposit, then blocked them and switched off his phones once the money arrived. Two phones seized from him held chats and other evidence of the activity, and the public prosecution took over the investigation. The reports do not give the number of people deceived, the amounts taken or the number of women whose photos were used.

Core concern Low reported severity Investigation Opened

AI involvement reported · Causal attribution alleged · 3 sources, 1 underlying account · Added 02/10/2026

Event date unknownFinlandUnidentified image tool

Lappeenranta: police investigate a minor boy suspected of using AI to create nude images of several underage girls he knew

Southeast Finland Police (Kaakkois-Suomen poliisi) opened a preliminary investigation in August 2026 into a case in which a minor boy in Lappeenranta is suspected of using AI to create nude images of several underage girls; Ilta-Sanomat reported that he is suspected of using social media photos of girls he knew, while the investigator told the paper that police could not yet comment on the method. On 25 August the lead investigator told Yle there were tens of victims, possibly more than a hundred, all from the Lappeenranta area; on 28 August police said the number of complainants had proved significantly smaller than first estimated, without giving a figure. Police are investigating the case as aggravated distribution of an image depicting a child sexually, an offence that also covers making such images, and said they were not aware that the AI images had been spread or sold onward. Student welfare professionals offered conversation and crisis support to young people in the town. Police also said the suspect had been threatened and harassed and that someone had tried to break into the suspect's home. The AI tool is not identified; victims and suspect are not named.

Core concern High reported severity Involving minors Investigation Opened

AI involvement reported · Causal attribution alleged · 5 sources, 2 underlying accounts · Added 02/10/2026

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: 23/10/2026. Dataset available under CC BY 4.0.