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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
19
Countries with reported events
10
Located 18 of 19 cases · 1 unknown
Languages in checked sources
7
Recorded for 19 of 19 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.

No known event years in this selection.

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19 of 868 published cases

Event date unknownIsraelUnidentified image tool

Jerusalem police say three boys aged 13 to 15 used AI to turn social-media photos of schoolgirls into nude images and spread them; at least 30 girls harmed

Israel Police said in February 2025 that three boys aged 13 to 15 from Jerusalem were suspected of taking photos of girls from social media, editing them with artificial intelligence software into nude images and distributing them without consent. According to Ynet, at least 30 girls were harmed; police said investigators identified dozens of victims and that a search of the suspects' homes found edited nude images of several girls. The head of the Jerusalem district youth investigations unit described dozens of cases of girls' privacy being violated through nude images edited with AI technology. The three were questioned over publishing a sexual image without consent, and the case was passed to prosecutors to decide on charges.

Core concern High reported severity Involving minors Investigation Opened

AI involvement reported · Causal attribution alleged · 2 sources, 1 underlying account · Added 22/10/2026

Event date unknownSpainUnidentified image tool

Álava, Spain: Policía Nacional says a man photographed children in the street and at municipal pools, then used AI tools to make them appear naked; arrested

Spain's Policía Nacional said in a press note on 15 December 2025 that it had arrested a man in the province of Álava who photographed minors in the street and at municipal swimming pools and then manipulated the photos with artificial intelligence tools so that the children appeared naked. The investigation began in August 2025 after cyber-patrol work and international cooperation flagged someone producing child sexual abuse material; police say the suspect used advanced anonymisation techniques. A search of his home found numerous such images created with AI tools. He was arrested on suspicion of corruption of minors through the production and possession of child sexual abuse material. The account is the police's, relayed by Cadena SER and Escudo Digital; the number of children is not stated and the case is untried.

Core concern High reported severity Involving minors Criminal Charges

AI involvement reported · Causal attribution alleged · 2 sources, 1 underlying account · Added 16/10/2026

Event date unknownIndiaUnidentified image tool

Bahraich, Uttar Pradesh: brother's police complaint alleges two young men made AI obscene images of his sister from her phone photos to blackmail her

Three Hindi outlets report that police in Bahraich district, Uttar Pradesh, registered a case on a complaint by a man who alleges that two young men took photos from his sister's mobile phone, turned them into obscene images with AI and blackmailed her by threatening to spread them on social media, while repeatedly contacting her and causing her mental distress. She is described as a teenager (a minor, per Amar Ujala; Dainik Bhaskar describes her as a woman), and Amar Ujala says the photos were taken after she took her broken phone to a local shop for repair. The station officer is quoted as saying a first information report was registered and the case is under investigation. Bhaskar Digital notes that the allegations can only be confirmed by the police investigation. The images, the tool and any distribution beyond the threats are not described.

Core concern Medium reported severity Involving minors Investigation Opened

AI involvement reported · Causal attribution alleged · 3 sources · Added 11/10/2026

Event date unknownArgentinaUnidentified image tool

La Banda, Argentina: mother tells police a former classmate put her daughter's photos onto naked bodies with AI and they were spread on WhatsApp, 8 Oct 2026

In La Banda, Santiago del Estero province, Argentina, a woman filed a police complaint on the evening of 8 October 2026 stating that a 15-year-old adolescent, a former classmate of her 15-year-old daughter, had taken photographs of the girl and modified them with artificial-intelligence tools, placing naked bodies on them, and that the images had then been published and spread in WhatsApp groups. Officers of the women's and family community police station and the departmental unit intervened, and the prosecutor ordered the material attached and the file raised to the prosecutor's office for investigation. The account rests on the police report as relayed by the local newspaper Diario Panorama; the tool is not named, and both the girl and the accused are minors.

Core concern Medium reported severity Involving minors Investigation Opened

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

Event date unknownArgentinaUnidentified image and video tool

Tucumán, Argentina: schoolgirls allege a classmate made about 280 AI nude images of them that spread on WhatsApp and were sold; sit-in protests 8 and 9 Oct 2026

Girls at a secondary school in the locality of San Pablo, Tucumán province, Argentina, reported in October 2026 that a male classmate had used artificial-intelligence tools to generate about 280 sexual images of them, placing their faces on naked bodies, and that the images circulated in WhatsApp groups and, they later learned, were sold. The families raised the matter with the school, which acknowledged in a communiqué to families that it had received parents concerned about photographs and videos altered with AI showing adolescents' faces on naked female bodies, and announced a listening and formative day for 13 October 2026. Cadena 3 reported, citing 'el informe' (the report), that pupils from first to fifth year, aged 12 to 18, were affected; student delegates told it that a pupil described as a friend of the accused alerted the girls and that the school's response was insufficient; the students held sit-ins outside the school on Thursday 8 and Friday 9 October 2026 demanding an investigation, the examination of the accused pupil's phone and his expulsion. A pupil at the protest told Tendencia de Noticias (9 October 2026) that the accused first sold the images among classmates and then opened an OnlyFans page to sell them to people outside the school; the school's legal representative told the outlet that two pupils were involved and that education authorities had been notified. The allegations rest on the students' and families' accounts and the school's communiqué as relayed by the press; a mother told La Gaceta (10 October 2026) that the mother of one of the most affected girls had filed a complaint and the prosecutor's office had intervened, which no authority is reported to have confirmed; the tool is not named, and the accused pupil is a minor.

Core concern Medium reported severity Involving minors Internal Action

AI involvement reported · Causal attribution alleged · 5 sources, 3 underlying accounts · Added 10/10/2026

Event date unknownArgentinaUnidentified image and video tool

Lomas de Zamora, Argentina: families say pupils made AI fake nudes of classmates and sold them; prosecutors say four adolescents are under investigation

On 7 October 2026 pupils and families protested outside a private secondary school in Lomas de Zamora, Buenos Aires province, after families reported that a group of pupils had used artificial intelligence to alter real photographs of female classmates so that they appeared naked, and had circulated the images through social networks and messaging apps. Families told reporters that the images were compiled in a "catalogue" pairing each girl’s original social-media photo with the manipulated version, that some were offered for money on adult sites, and that the girls were traumatised and ashamed. Urgente24 reported that two 15-year-old pupils were charged (imputados) in the juvenile prosecutor’s case, that investigators had identified 45 possible victims while families spoke of about 50, and that, according to information circulating, the school had decided the pupils involved would continue classes online and would not be re-enrolled for 2027; El Destape, by contrast, reported that the school did not plan to sanction or expel them and would hold awareness talks, and El Destape and Código Baires describe the move to online classes as a measure under evaluation. Families also allege the school knew for about a month before telling parents. On 9 October 2026 La Nación reported that the Prosecutor General's office had confirmed that four adolescents were under investigation, and Infobae reported that police had searched the homes of three 15-year-olds the previous day. The allegations have not been tested in court and the AI tool is not identified.

Core concern Medium reported severity Involving minors Criminal Charges

AI involvement reported · Causal attribution alleged · 5 sources · Added 08/10/2026

Event date unknownUnited StatesUnidentified image tool

New Orleans: former school teacher charged with 60 counts of unlawful deepfakes; investigators say an AI platform turned social-media photos into sexual images

Louisiana's Attorney General announced on 2 April 2026 that a former New Orleans school teacher and coach, already in custody since 8 January 2026 on child sexual abuse material charges, had been rearrested on 60 counts of unlawful deepfakes. According to court records reported by Fox 8, investigators from the Louisiana Bureau of Investigation say the former teacher obtained photographs that account owners had posted on social media, placed them into an online artificial intelligence platform and obtained AI-generated sexual images of the females with their faces unchanged, including collages and images of the same females at various stages of life; the females appear to be from the New Orleans metro area. Prosecutors said the images were made from teenage girls' Instagram posts, while the school emailed parents that it did not know who the depicted girls were. A grand jury indicted the former teacher on 27 May 2026 on 102 counts including 60 counts of unlawful deepfakes of minors. The number and identities of the depicted people are not reported, no source dates the creation of the images, and the charges are untested in court.

Core concern High reported severity Involving minors Criminal Charges

AI involvement reported · Causal attribution alleged · 4 sources, 2 underlying accounts · Added 08/10/2026

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 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

Event date unknownItalyUnidentified image tool

Rimini: police report a minor to the juvenile prosecutor for allegedly making and spreading images, apparently created with AI, that attached a girl's face to a nude body and circulated in chats

The Squadra mobile of the Rimini police reported a minor to prosecutors, accused of making and spreading images manipulated with artificial intelligence. According to the Polizia di Stato, the investigation began after a report that images apparently created with AI were circulating in which a girl's face had been attached to a nude body without her knowledge. Corriere di Bologna reports that the minor was reported to the juvenile prosecutor's office in Bologna on 30 September 2026 for unlawful dissemination of AI-falsified content and child pornography, and that investigators say the image was sent to friends and acquaintances on WhatsApp. Neither the girl nor the accused is identified.

Core concern Medium reported severity Involving minors Investigation Opened

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

Event date unknownAustraliaUnidentified image tool

Sydney schoolgirls reportedly targeted with deepfake images circulated online

ABC News reports that digitally altered sexual images using the faces of girls from a Sydney high school circulated online. Families went to police, who confirmed an investigation, while the school and education department said they were working with police. A follow-up report says the eSafety Commissioner was also in talks with investigators. The school is not identified, and the number of affected students, creation date and later inquiry outcome are unknown.

Core concern Medium reported severity Involving minors

AI involvement reported · Causal attribution alleged · 2 sources, 1 underlying account · Added 30/09/2026

Event date unknownUnited StatesUnidentified image tool

Students at a US high school reportedly depicted in AI-generated sexual images shared between students

On 2 and 3 April 2026 outlets reported a district letter to families and a police statement about a report that reached high school administrators on 26 February 2026. The report concerned the possible use of AI to generate sexual images that included the likenesses of other students. Police were contacted the same day and described potential transmission between students of lewd material, including AI-generated content depicting the likenesses of juveniles. Families of students thought to be involved, including students whose images were included, were contacted on 26 and 27 February, and the school issued school-based consequences between 26 February and 6 March. The police investigation was active and no charge was reported. One parent told a local outlet that police had obtained a subpoena for Snapchat records, and another said the victims number more than 40 and range from high school to fifth grade. The district and police gave no count, and the creation date, the AI tool and the outcome are not reported.

Core concern Medium reported severity Involving minors

AI involvement reported · Causal attribution alleged · 6 sources, 1 underlying account · Added 30/09/2026

Event date unknownAustraliaUnidentified image tool

Female students at a Victorian secondary school reportedly depicted in AI-generated sexual images circulated online

In a report published on 21 February 2025 about a Victoria Police press conference, an Australian regional outlet stated that sexually explicit AI-manipulated images of teenage girls had been circulated online and that two Year 11 students had been suspended. Police were quoted saying the images allegedly involved formal photos of female students. Police were still working to establish how many students were victims. The Department of Education said wellbeing support had been offered to students who needed it. The creation date, the AI tool, the number of affected students and the outcome of the investigation are not reported in the cited source.

Core concern Medium reported severity Involving minors

AI involvement reported · Causal attribution alleged · 1 source · Added 29/09/2026

Event date unknownEvent location unknownUnidentified image tool

Montana prosecutors charge a Carter County man in a case involving AI-altered images of a Montana child

On 21 August 2025 the Montana Attorney General's Office charged a Carter County man with three felony counts of sexual abuse of children for possessing child sexual abuse material. Prosecutors state that in at least one count an AI tool was used to alter images of a Montana child that were taken from the child's parents' public social media account. The investigation began with cyber tips about uploads to a cloud backup. The charges are allegations. The child and the accused are not named here. The only reported harmed person is the depicted child and the sources report no other consequence, so the harm evidence is weak: it rests on the prosecutors' description of the charged conduct. The date of the conduct is not reported.

Core concern Low reported severity Involving minors

AI involvement reported · Causal attribution alleged · 2 sources, 1 underlying account · Added 29/09/2026

Event date unknownUnited KingdomUnidentified image tool

County Armagh school pupils reportedly depicted in AI-generated explicit images shared among pupils

BBC News and other outlets reported on 18 and 19 January 2026 that the Police Service of Northern Ireland opened an investigation after a report that AI-generated explicit images were shared among pupils at a County Armagh school. The principal wrote to parents that the school became aware on 8 January, believed it had identified all pupils whose images were manipulated and those allegedly responsible, and put the number targeted in the single figures. The principal described a particularly difficult time for the pupils depicted. The creation date, the AI tool and the outcome of the investigation are not reported.

Core concern Medium reported severity Involving minors

AI involvement reported · Causal attribution alleged · 3 sources, 1 underlying account · Added 29/09/2026

Event date unknownUnited StatesUnidentified image and video tool

Portland, Tennessee: a man who prosecutors say used AI to put children's faces onto sexual images and videos and traded them with a Canadian resident for real child sexual abuse material was sentenced to 30 years in Sumner County in September 2026

The Sumner County (18th Judicial District) District Attorney's Office said a 30-year-old Portland, Tennessee man was sentenced in Sumner County Criminal Court in September 2026 to 30 years in the Tennessee Department of Correction, to be served without probation, parole or early release. According to the prosecutors, he used artificial intelligence to place the faces of children onto images and videos of nude people and of people engaged in sexual acts, then exchanged the material with a Canadian resident for real child sexual abuse material. Canadian authorities found messages and material connected to him after arresting the person he was communicating with and alerted US law enforcement; a joint investigation by Portland police, Homeland Security Investigations, the FBI and the TBI led to his arrest in November 2025. He was also charged with tampering with evidence after investigators said he deleted material before officers entered his home to execute a search warrant. The children whose faces were used are not identified, their number is not reported, and the reports do not say which AI tool was used or which offences he was convicted of.

Core concern High reported severity Involving minors Criminal Charges

AI involvement reported · Causal attribution supported · 4 sources, 1 underlying account · Added 28/09/2026

Event date unknownUnited StatesUnidentified image tool

Gilmer County, Georgia: a vendor who restocked drink machines in local schools used AI applications to turn ordinary photographs of students into child sexual abuse material; prosecutors identified more than 150 underage victims, he was convicted on 118 counts and sentenced on 2 September 2026 to 40 years in prison, and parents of eight students sued Pepsi entities for keeping him on the school route

According to the DeKalb County District Attorney's Office, which prosecuted the case as conflict prosecutor, the investigation began in December 2024 when a Gilmer High School student told a school resource officer that a vendor who refilled drink machines on campus had asked her through a social media app to send him pictures. The Gilmer County Sheriff's Office arrested him in January 2025 and searched his devices, car and home. Prosecutors say he downloaded photographs of minors from social media and used AI applications and bots to alter them so the children appeared nude or engaged in sexual activity, and that the material related to more than 150 underage victims in Georgia and other states, many of them Gilmer County students. A Cobb County senior judge found him guilty on 13 August 2026 of 118 counts of sexual exploitation of children and on 2 September 2026, after 19 victim impact statements, sentenced him to 60 years with 40 to serve in prison. Separately, the parents of eight female students aged 12 to 17 sued him, Pepsi Beverage Co. and Pepsi-Cola Sales and Distribution in a suit reported on 28 February 2025, alleging the companies reinstated him to the same school route after students complained that he was photographing them; USA Herald reported the negligence suit again on 26 September 2026 and said Pepsi had not yet responded publicly. The AI tools are not named and the court and status of the civil suit are not reported.

Core concern High reported severity Involving minors Criminal Charges

AI involvement supported · Causal attribution supported · 8 sources, 5 underlying accounts · Added 27/09/2026

Event date unknownSpainUnidentified image tool

Logroño: the Guardia Civil investigates a 14-year-old who took photographs of nine underage classmates from their public social-media profiles, used AI tools to strip and sexualise them, and uploaded the fake images to an adult pornography website under a profile describing them as girls from his school made with AI, organised in folders with each girl's personal details; the images reached about 40,000 views before removal (reported 14 July 2026)

On 14 July 2026 Spain's Interior Ministry published a Guardia Civil release stating that a 14-year-old from Logroño was under investigation as the presumed author of offences of discovery and disclosure of secrets, corruption of minors and child pornography. Investigators from the technology investigation team (EDITE) and Equipo@ found that he knew all nine victims, all minors and classmates, followed them on social media, took their photographs from the public content of their profiles without consent, and used artificial-intelligence tools to manipulate the images, digitally undress and sexualise them. He uploaded the fake pornographic material to an adult pornography website, created a profile there describing the content as girls from his school made with AI, and organised it in individual folders with each victim's personal data, which the Guardia Civil says made the girls recognisable and multiplied the emotional and social harm. Before the content could be removed it had reached about 40,000 views, amplifying the harm to the nine girls' privacy within hours. The proceedings were passed to the juvenile prosecutor under the juvenile criminal responsibility law; the release notes that parents or guardians are jointly liable for moral damages. Diario de León (Europa Press, 26 July) placed the case in a series of Spanish school cases since Almendralejo in 2023 and, unlike the release, described the minor as having been arrested.

Core concern High reported severity Involving minors Investigation Opened

AI involvement reported · Causal attribution supported · 3 sources, 1 underlying account · Added 23/09/2026

Event date unknownBrazilUnidentified video tool

Brazilian police investigate creator over sexualised videos made from congregants' photos he says he animated with AI; two teenage girls filed reports

São Paulo police are investigating a social-media creator over sexualised videos he made from photographs of young women and girls in a church congregation, which he said he animated with AI. Two teenage girls filed police reports, and one described embarrassment and fear about the exposure. The creator, through his lawyer, says the posts were humour and denies criminal intent; no charge has been reported.

Core concern High reported severity Involving minors Investigation Opened

AI involvement supported · Causal attribution supported · 5 sources, 3 underlying accounts · Added 14/06/2026

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.