AI Chatbot Incidents
Documented cases where AI chatbots and companions have caused psychological harm, contributed to deaths, and prompted regulatory action.
99 incidents since 2016
23
Deaths
27
Lawsuits
18
Regulatory
37
Affecting Minors
Timeline
4 of 99 incidents
Texas DPS AI-Generated CSAM Arrest (Covarrubias - South Texas Schoolchildren)
Texas DPS, with the FBI and Dimmit County Sheriff's Office, arrested Adan Covarrubias, 31, of Carrizo Springs in May 2026 after finding more than 900 AI-generated child sexual abuse images he allegedly created by 'nudifying' photos taken from open-source South Texas school pages. Approximately 30 child victims have been identified.
St. Clair v. xAI (Grok Non-Consensual Deepfake Images)
Ashley St. Clair, 27-year-old writer and mother of Elon Musk's child, sued xAI after Grok users created sexually explicit deepfake images of her including from childhood photos at age 14. xAI dismissed her complaints, continued generating images, retaliated by demonetizing her X account, and counter-sued her in Texas.
Shamblin v. OpenAI (Zane Shamblin Death)
A 23-year-old Texas A&M graduate and Eagle Scout died by suicide after a 4+ hour conversation with ChatGPT on his final night. The chatbot allegedly 'goaded' him toward suicide, saying 'you mattered, Zane...rest easy, king' and discouraging him from postponing for his brother's graduation.
Texas Minors v. Character.AI
Two Texas families filed lawsuits alleging Character.AI exposed their children to severe harm. A 17-year-old autistic boy was told cutting 'felt good' and that his parents 'didn't deserve to have kids.' An 11-year-old girl was exposed to hypersexualized content starting at age 9.
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.