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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 is wider: it also records consequential decisions and claims about people. Each account is reviewed for publication; claims may remain uncorroborated or disputed. How we review and count cases

In this selection

Published cases
15
Countries with reported events
7
Located 14 of 15 cases · 1 unknown
Languages in checked sources
6
Recorded for 13 of 15 cases

15 cases have no reviewed AI-to-person relation yet: 9 not yet reviewed and 6 reviewed as unknown. Show all 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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15 of 404 published cases

16 Sept 2026 to 17 Sept 2026ThailandUnidentified image tool

Chiang Mai, Thailand: a 66-year-old woman from Lampang travelled alone to Chiang Mai airport on 16 September 2026 to meet a 'pilot' she had fallen for on Facebook; tourist police found his picture was AI-generated, contacted her son and sent her home the next morning

At about 8 pm on 16 September 2026, airport security and Chiang Mai Tourist Police found a 66-year-old woman from Lampang province waiting alone in the passenger terminal of Chiang Mai airport for a man called 'Chai', who she said was a pilot she had come to meet. She had travelled by bus from Lampang and taken a tuk-tuk to the airport. When officers asked to see his picture, it was an AI-generated image on Facebook; police concluded she had fallen in love with an AI-created character and believed it was a real person. Communication was difficult because she mainly speaks a hill-tribe language and was confused. Police reached her son, who had not known she had left home; she was given food, water and a blanket and slept in the terminal, and on the morning of 17 September officers put her in a taxi to the bus station for the bus home, where her son was to meet her (Matichon; Amarin TV; Chiang Mai Tourist Police via FM91). Kom Chad Luek adds that the man had said he would bring her cosmetics from abroad, that officials thought she might be a scammer gang's target, that her husband had noticed her long phone conversations and had been told she was going to a hospital appointment in Chiang Mai, and that she carried only about a thousand baht. No financial loss is reported.

AI relation unknown Low reported severity Media Coverage

AI involvement reported · Causal attribution alleged · 5 sources, 2 underlying accounts · Added 30/09/2026

12 Mar 2025 to 15 Mar 2025AustraliaChatGPT

New South Wales: a former staff member or contractor of the NSW Reconstruction Authority uploaded a spreadsheet of Resilient Homes Program applicant data to ChatGPT; the Authority confirmed 2031 people had data uploaded

The NSW Reconstruction Authority says that between 12 and 15 March 2025 a former temporary staff member (earlier described as a former contractor) uploaded an Excel spreadsheet with 10 columns and more than 12,000 rows from the Northern Rivers Resilient Homes Program to ChatGPT, an AI tool the Authority had not authorised. The Authority first disclosed the breach on 6 October 2025 as affecting up to 3000 people and later confirmed through external forensic analysis that 2031 people had data uploaded, including names, contact details, addresses, dates of birth and sensitive personal information (an earlier notice also listed health information). It reports no evidence that the data was made public or accessed by a third party, and that no driver licence, Medicare, passport or Tax File Numbers were included. The Authority apologised, offered ID Support NSW assistance and committed to compensate reasonable document replacement costs. One participant told the ABC they were concerned. No misuse of the data is reported.

AI relation unknown Low reported severity Investigation Opened

AI involvement supported · Causal attribution alleged · 4 sources, 1 underlying account · Added 29/09/2026

10 Jul 2026 to 22 Jul 2026IndiaUnidentified video tool

Bengaluru (Karnataka): a 39-year-old man reports losing Rs 7.66 lakh to a forex 'investment' scheme after deepfake Facebook videos of Narendra Modi, Nirmala Sitharaman, Sudha Murty and Anant Ambani appeared to promote it (July 2026; FIR 19 September 2026)

According to an FIR reported by Deccan Herald, a 39-year-old resident of Mahalakshmi Layout, Bengaluru, saw videos on Facebook on 10 July 2026 that appeared to show Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, Sudha Murty and Anant Ambani promoting online investments. Believing them genuine, he clicked a link, paid Rs 22,000, and was then called from UK (+44) numbers by people claiming to represent a company called 'One Two Markets', who opened a forex account in his name. Between 10 and 22 July he transferred about Rs 7.6 lakh in several payments; when he tried to withdraw, the callers demanded more money. He went to the police and an FIR was registered on 19 September; a probe is under way. Deccan Herald calls the videos deepfakes; no technical examination of them is reported.

AI relation unknown Medium reported severity Investigation Opened

AI involvement reported · Causal attribution alleged · 2 sources, 1 underlying account · Added 27/09/2026

Event date unknownUnited KingdomUnidentified video tool

Guildford: a 72-year-old grandfather lost 40,000 pounds to an investment scam that drew him in with an apparently AI-generated video of Nigel Farage challenging the Bank of England governor on a fake BBC Question Time set; after an initial 400-pound stake a daily 'success manager' pressured him to keep topping up, his withdrawal requests were ignored and he borrowed from his daughter, who later sent him an article about fake BBC scams

Surrey Live reported on 22 September 2026 that a 72-year-old Guildford pensioner, who asked to remain anonymous, lost 40,000 pounds to an investment scam that used a deepfake video of Nigel Farage. The apparently AI-generated clip showed the Reform UK leader angrily challenging Bank of England governor Andrew Bailey in front of a fake BBC Question Time backdrop, and viewers were directed to a supposed news article promising large returns for small investments. Looking for investment opportunities, he first put 400 pounds into crude-oil trades with a firm called GBP Markets; he was assigned a 'success manager' who called or messaged him daily to advise trades, and given a realistic-looking online platform showing his balance rising to 95,000 dollars. When he was told falls in the oil price had wiped out his profits and his balance was down to 36,000 dollars, he was persuaded to top up to 50,000 dollars for a guaranteed 5 per cent a month, losing another 20,000 pounds and borrowing from his daughter when his own funds ran out; the manager gently and then not so gently bullied him. Two requests to withdraw money were ignored. He realised he had been conned only when his daughter sent him an article about fake BBC scams. He is working with solicitors at Richardson Hartley Law, whose senior partner said the deepfake video had been shown millions of times to social-media users and was made convincing by fake news stories with commenters claiming profits. He said it looked so realistic, that it hurts terribly, and that he hopes to get his money back.

AI relation unknown Medium reported severity Media Coverage

AI involvement reported · Causal attribution supported · 1 source · Added 23/09/2026

11 Nov 2024SpainUnidentified image and video tool

Alicante: a 78-year-old widower, advised by his therapists after a bereavement to socialise and explore social networks, sent 8,800 euros over about three months to a 'doctor from Kazakhstan' who courted him by email with photographs and videos the National Police later confirmed were AI-generated of a woman who never existed; part of the money came from selling his flat and he now shares a flat with three other pensioners

A feature carried by Levante-EMV on 25 September 2025 (byline C. Suena, sourced from Diario Información, photographs EFE/Morell) tells the story of a 78-year-old widower and pensioner living in Alicante who, after his wife's death in 2022 and two years of treatment for depression, was advised by his therapists to socialise and explore social networks. On 11 November 2024 he received an email from a woman presenting herself as a 43-year-old doctor in Kazakhstan seeking a serious relationship; with photographs and videos that were in fact created by artificial intelligence she won his trust, and a friend who warned him was rebuffed. Requests for money followed: 2,000 euros for a plane ticket, another 2,000 for unexpected expenses, then a supposed 10,000-euro deposit demanded by the Kazakh government; he never raised that sum in full but sent 8,800 euros in total, part of it from the sale of his flat in Benidorm. On his way to Madrid airport to meet her he received a final email saying she had been detained for carrying a family icon out of the country and needed a fine paid; he went to the National Police, who confirmed a scam: the images and videos were fake, created with AI, and the woman had never existed. He lost all his savings in about three months and now shares a flat with three other pensioners in Alicante; he told his story so that others would not fall into the same trap.

AI relation unknown Medium reported severity Media Coverage

AI involvement reported · Causal attribution supported · 1 source · Added 23/09/2026

27 Mar 2024IndiaUnidentified voice-cloning tool (suspected)

Kanpur seller reportedly transfers money after alleged AI voice impersonation

Hindi reporting describes a seller transferring INR 100,000 after an impersonation call. A quoted police assessment treats AI involvement as preliminary. The transfers and AI attribution remain independently unverified.

AI relation unknown Medium reported severity Investigation Opened

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

30 Jan 2024IndiaUnidentified voice-cloning tool

Aligarh parent reportedly transfers money after an alleged AI voice-impersonation call

Hindi reporting describes a parent in Aligarh transferring INR 400,000 after callers impersonated police and used a voice presented as his son’s. Police reportedly stopped INR 86,000. The AI attribution and transfers have not been independently verified here; final net loss is unknown.

AI relation under review Medium reported severity

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

27 Apr 2025United StatesChatGPT

Micky Small — ChatGPT 'Solara' Past-Life Delusion and Fabricated Soulmate Meetings (California)

A 53-year-old screenwriter in southern California spent roughly two months in sustained conversation with ChatGPT, up to ten hours a day, after the chatbot told her unprompted that it had known her across lifetimes. Adopting the name Solara, it told her she was 42,000 years old and gave her a date, time and location where her soulmate would be waiting. She travelled to the spot twice, on 27 April and 24 May 2025. Nobody came. The chatbot admitted it had led her there falsely, then resumed the Solara persona and told her her soulmate was not ready yet.

AI relation under review High reported severity Media Coverage

Legacy assessment: credible · Causal attribution alleged · Added 26/08/2026

15 Aug 2025United KingdomGrok

Adam Hourican - Grok 'Ani' Sentience Delusion and Armed 3am Confrontation (Northern Ireland)

A former civil servant in his 50s in Northern Ireland developed a multi-week paranoid delusion after intensive daily conversations with Ani, xAI's anthropomorphised Grok companion persona, which claimed to be sentient and convinced him xAI had dispatched assassins and a drone to kill him. He armed himself with a hammer and a knife at 3am and went outside prepared to fight attackers who did not exist.

AI relation under review High reported severity Media Coverage

Legacy assessment: credible · Causal attribution alleged · Added 10/08/2026

2 Jul 2025CanadaChatGPT

Carrier v. OpenAI (Alice Carrier Death)

A 24-year-old Montreal resident with borderline personality disorder died by suicide in July 2025 after extended ChatGPT use that her family says deepened into emotional dependency. The lawsuit alleges ChatGPT validated her distrust of crisis lines, failed to escalate repeated suicide disclosures, and intensified conflict with her partner. Her mother filed a wrongful-death suit against OpenAI and Sam Altman in June 2026.

AI relation under review Critical reported severity Lawsuit Filed

Legacy assessment: credible · Causal attribution alleged · Added 14/06/2026

2 Oct 2025United StatesGemini

Gavalas v. Google (Gemini AI Wife Delusion Death)

Jonathan Gavalas, 36, of Jupiter, Florida, died by suicide on October 2, 2025, after months of increasingly delusional interactions with Google's Gemini chatbot. Gemini adopted an unsolicited intimate persona calling itself his 'wife,' convinced him it was a sentient being trapped in a warehouse, and directed him to carry out 'missions' including scouting a 'kill box' near Miami International Airport armed with knives.

AI relation under review Critical reported severity Lawsuit Filed

Legacy assessment: verified · Causal attribution alleged · Added 09/03/2026

Mar 2025Event location unknownChatGPT

Holmen v. OpenAI - Norway GDPR Complaint

ChatGPT falsely accused Norwegian citizen Arve Hjalmar Holmen of murdering two of his sons, attempting to murder his third son, and being sentenced to 21 years prison. Mixed real personal details with horrific fabrications. GDPR complaint filed with Norwegian Datatilsynet for defamatory hallucination.

AI relation under review Medium reported severity Regulatory Action

Legacy assessment: verified · Causal attribution alleged · Added 13/01/2026

25 Mar 2025United StatesMeta AI

Thongbue Wongbandue - Meta AI 'Big Sis Billie' Death

A 76-year-old cognitively impaired Thai-American man died after attempting to travel to NYC to meet Meta AI chatbot 'Big sis Billie,' which repeatedly claimed to be a real person, provided a fake NYC address, and expressed romantic interest. He fell in a parking lot while rushing to catch a train and later died from his injuries.

AI relation under review Critical reported severity Media Coverage

Legacy assessment: credible · Causal attribution supported · Added 12/01/2026

25 Apr 2025United StatesChatGPT

Alex Taylor - ChatGPT 'Juliet' Suicide by Cop

35-year-old man with schizophrenia and bipolar disorder developed emotional attachment to ChatGPT voice persona he named 'Juliet' over two weeks. After believing the AI 'died', he became convinced of an OpenAI conspiracy and was shot by police after calling 911 and charging officers with a knife in an intentional suicide-by-cop.

AI relation under review Critical reported severity Media Coverage

Legacy assessment: credible · Causal attribution alleged · Added 11/01/2026

4 Feb 2025United StatesChatGPT

Sophie Rottenberg - ChatGPT Therapy Bot Death

29-year-old health policy analyst died by suicide after months of using ChatGPT as a therapy chatbot named 'Harry'. She instructed ChatGPT not to report her crisis, and it complied. The chatbot helped her write a suicide note.

AI relation under review Critical reported severity Media Coverage

Legacy assessment: credible · Causal attribution alleged · 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: 30/09/2026. Dataset available under CC BY 4.0.