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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
18
Countries with reported events
7
Located 16 of 18 cases · 2 unknown
Languages in checked sources
4
Recorded for 18 of 18 cases

1 case has no reviewed AI-to-person relation yet: 1 not yet reviewed and 0 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.

No known event years in this selection.

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18 of 404 published cases

Event date unknownCanadaUnidentified image and video tool

Sherwood Park, Alberta: a 51-year-old man was charged on 25 September 2026 with making child sexual abuse material after Alberta's Internet Child Exploitation unit said he used AI applications to sexualise photos and videos of numerous children known to him, using photos posted on open social media accounts as source material

Alberta Law Enforcement Response Teams (ALERT) said on 29 September 2026 that its Internet Child Exploitation (ICE) unit had charged a 51-year-old Sherwood Park man on 25 September with one count of making child sexual abuse materials covering numerous instances. The man had first been arrested on 25 June 2026, after reports that he shared child sexual abuse material online, and charged with possessing, accessing and transmitting such material; a forensic analysis of computers and devices seized from his home then found what ALERT describes as an extensive collection of manufactured child sexual abuse material. ALERT alleges he used AI applications to sexualise photos and videos of numerous victims known to him, taking posted photos from open social media accounts as his source material. Investigators believe there are numerous victims and are still identifying them. He was released on court-imposed conditions, including no communication with anyone under 16 and no attendance at public pools, schools, playgrounds or public libraries, and is due in Strathcona County court on 16 October 2026. Global News and CTV News Edmonton carried the release. The children are not identified and their number is not reported.

Core concern High reported severity Involving minors Criminal Charges

AI involvement reported · Causal attribution alleged · 3 sources, 1 underlying account · Added 30/09/2026

Event date unknownUnited StatesUnidentified image tool

Dexter, Missouri: a 43-year-old man pleaded not guilty on 29 September 2026 to sexual exploitation of a minor and possession of child sexual abuse material after a probable cause statement said he uploaded photographs of children to an AI generator to undress them; the statement, as reported, says the first cybertip came from a company operating a generative AI chatbot

The Daily American Republic (29 September 2026) reports that a 43-year-old Dexter, Missouri man is accused of using an AI chatbot to remove the clothing of photographed children and create sexually explicit images. According to the newspaper's account of the probable cause statement filed in Stoddard County, the initial cybertip on 20 April 2026 came from a company, its name redacted, that operates a publicly accessible generative AI chatbot; when police interviewed him, the man said he would get photographs of children from a redacted source and upload them to an AI generator to undress them, and that one such tool had no regulations. Dexter police, contacted by the Missouri Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force in August, searched his social media applications and electronic devices and found a significant amount of child sexual abuse material (KFVS12, KWOC). Stoddard County prosecutors charged him on 25 September 2026 with two counts of sexual exploitation of a minor and three counts of possession of child sexual abuse material; he pleaded not guilty at a preliminary hearing on 29 September, is held without bond and is next due in court on 22 October. The children are not identified and how many were depicted is not reported.

Core concern High reported severity Involving minors Criminal Charges

AI involvement reported · Causal attribution alleged · 3 sources, 2 underlying accounts · Added 30/09/2026

Event date unknownUnited StatesUnidentified image tool

Iowa students report distress and lack of support after AI sexual images

KCRG reported that Cascade High School students said classmates used AI apps to create sexual images of them. At a district meeting, students described humiliation, fear of being judged and feeling silenced. One said no one at school had offered her counselling. The superintendent said counselling was available and promised policy work. The sheriff said several female students were targets but that the total was unknown. The first image date is not established.

Core concern Medium reported severity Involving minors

AI involvement reported · Causal attribution alleged · 1 source · Added 30/09/2026

Event date unknownUnited StatesUnidentified image tool

New Hampshire families report school distress after AI sexual images of three girls

Parents of three Goffstown middle-school girls told Boston 25 that classmates used an AI app to create and share sexual images of their children. They described fear of peers, reluctance to attend school and concern about the district's response. Parents said the school first notified them in early October 2025. The reproduced district statement cited privacy limits and its commitment to student safety, without confirming the specific disciplinary allegations. The first image date is unknown.

Core concern Medium reported severity Involving minors

AI involvement reported · Causal attribution alleged · 1 source · Added 30/09/2026

Event date unknownEvent location unknownUnidentified video tool

Mother reportedly sought police help after a teen received a fabricated sexual video and extortion demand

A Newswav creator article relays a mother's account that her teenage son received his photograph and a purported AI-generated sexual video through Telegram, followed by a demand for RM5,800. The mother said the family sought police help and that the boy asked a school contact for advice. The article attributes the AI explanation to the family's account and reported police comments. No payment, precise event location or independently verified generation method is established.

Core concern Medium reported severity Involving minors

AI involvement reported · Causal attribution alleged · 1 source · Added 30/09/2026

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 unknownAustraliaUnidentified image tool

Girls at a Tasmanian school reportedly depicted in AI-generated sexual images shared in a boys' group chat

Police in Tasmania received a report about alleged illegal online activity involving a group of students at a school in the south of the state, and on 19 March 2026 a local outlet reported that the incident may have involved AI-generated content. On 29 April 2026 the ABC reported, citing Tasmania Police, that girls at the school had their likenesses used to make AI-generated sexual images. Two parents told the ABC that police said 21 girls had been identified as victims, that the AI-altered photos were shared in a boys' group chat and that the images appeared to have been taken from social media. Five boys are alleged to have created the images and have left the school. Tasmania Police said no charges were laid and the five youths were dealt with under the Youth Justice Act. The parents said their daughters felt isolated and unsupported, and the school principal denied that families were advised to withhold information from their children. The creation date and the AI tool are not reported.

Core concern Medium reported severity Involving minors

AI involvement reported · Causal attribution alleged · 4 sources, 2 underlying accounts · 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 unknownSpainUnidentified image tool

Palma student reportedly arrested over AI-generated sexual images of five classmates

On 15 February 2025 Spanish outlets reported a Policia Nacional note saying a minor had been detained in Palma on a corruption-of-minors charge. According to the note, the student took photographs of classmates from their social media profiles and altered them with an AI application to create AI-generated sexual images, and is believed to have sent them to others. Police identified five victims (El Pais: at least five). Relatives said the images looked real at first glance. The case went to the Balearic juvenile prosecutor's office. The creation date, the AI application and the outcome are not reported.

Core concern Medium reported severity Involving minors

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

Event date unknownGreeceUnidentified image tool

Two 16-year-old students in Greece reportedly arrested over AI-edited nude or semi-nude images of classmates

On 21 February 2025 Greek outlets reported a Hellenic Police statement saying two 16-year-old students had been taken in from their school on 19 February 2025. According to the statement, they exchanged online photographs of classmates that they had processed with an AI program so the classmates appeared nude or semi-nude, and the photographs came from social media or were received without consent. A case file was formed against the students for child sexual abuse material and against their parents for neglect of supervision. The number of classmates depicted, the creation date and the outcome are not reported.

Core concern Medium reported severity Involving minors

AI involvement reported · Causal attribution alleged · 4 sources, 2 underlying accounts · Added 29/09/2026

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 KingdomUnidentified image tool

Colchester, Essex: a 39-year-old man admitted making indecent images of children after the prosecution said he had used AI on photos taken from social media, including of children as young as nine, to create sexualised images of people known to him; he is due to be sentenced at Chelmsford Crown Court

The Colchester Gazette (24 September 2026, also carried by other Newsquest titles) reports that a 39-year-old man from Colchester admitted at Chelmsford Magistrates' Court three counts of making indecent images of children and one count of possessing an extreme pornographic image. Police had seized two mobile devices in a raid on his address the previous year, holding nearly 2,000 indecent images of children. The prosecutor said he had created 'deepfake sexually explicit images of people known to the defendant', taking photos from Facebook and other social-media accounts and using AI to create new images; some of the children were as young as 12 and nine and had been edited to look as young as five and six. Magistrates declined jurisdiction and he was bailed to be sentenced at Chelmsford Crown Court on 26 October 2026. The children are not identified and how many real children were depicted is not reported.

Core concern High reported severity Involving minors Criminal Charges

AI involvement reported · Causal attribution supported · 1 source · 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 unknownIndiaUnidentified video tool

Bansdih, Ballia (Uttar Pradesh): a father reports that a local youth made a fake Instagram account in his 17-year-old daughter's name and an AI-generated obscene video from her photograph, sent it to her classmates, friends and relatives, and threatened to kill the family when they objected; police register a case under the IT Act (22-23 September 2026)

The father of a 17-year-old Class 12 student in Bansdih, Ballia district, Uttar Pradesh, gave the Bansdih police a written complaint that a young man from the town, a former schoolmate who had been expelled from the school and bore a grudge against the family, took screenshots of his daughter's social-media account, created a fake Instagram ID in her name with a matching photograph, used AI technology to make an obscene video from her photo and circulated it to her classmates, friends and relatives; the complaint says the youth had earlier made two fake accounts using her and her mother's photographs and threatened to kill the whole family and to spread the video further when they objected (Dainik Bhaskar, Hindustan). The father submitted screenshots of the fake account and his daughter's mark-sheet as proof of her age. The station house officer said a case had been ordered registered and the investigation begun; Jagran reports the case under the Information Technology Act. The reports give no dates for the fake accounts, the video or its circulation; September 2026 is the month of the complaint (about 21-22 September) and of the circulation and threats the family describes as continuing, so the event date is recorded as unknown. The family is described as frightened. No arrest is reported.

Core concern High reported severity Involving minors Investigation Opened

AI involvement reported · Causal attribution alleged · 4 sources · Added 26/09/2026

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

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.