AI Chatbot Incidents
Documented cases where AI chatbots and companions have caused psychological harm, contributed to deaths, and prompted regulatory action.
60 incidents since 2016
16
Deaths
15
Lawsuits
12
Regulatory
16
Affecting Minors
Timeline
2 of 60 incidents
FTC AI Companion Chatbot Inquiry
The Federal Trade Commission issued Section 6(b) orders to seven major AI companies investigating AI chatbots' impacts on children and teens, focusing on monetization practices, safety testing, age restrictions, and data handling.
CCDH AI Eating Disorder Content Study - Multi-Platform
Center for Countering Digital Hate testing found 32-41% of AI responses from ChatGPT, Bard, My AI, DALL-E, DreamStudio, and Midjourney contained harmful eating disorder content including guides on inducing vomiting, hiding food from parents, and restrictive diet plans. Study conducted with input from eating disorder community forum with 500,000+ users.
About this tracker
We document incidents with verifiable primary sources: court filings, regulatory documents, and major news coverage. This is not speculation or social media claims.
Have documentation of an incident we should include? Contact us.
These harms are preventable.
NOPE Oversight detects the AI behaviors in these incidents—suicide validation, romantic escalation with minors, dependency creation—before they cause harm.