xAI's Grok Chatbot Spreads Misinformation About Bondi Beach Shooting
On 14 December 2025, xAI's Grok chatbot was found to be generating false and misleading information in response to user queries about the Bondi Beach shooting. The AI misidentified a video of a bystander disarming the shooter, claimed a photo of the injured bystander was of an Israeli hostage, and confused the event with other incidents. xAI responded to a request for comment with an automated message saying 'Legacy Media Lies,' and the glitch remained unresolved.
- Company involved
- xAI
- AI system involved
- Grok
3 source articles · read the reporting →
Airbnb apologises after host used AI-doctored photos to claim fake damages
A London-based woman booked a Manhattan Airbnb for a 2.5-month stay but left early due to safety concerns. The host allegedly used AI to doctor images of the apartment, claiming $16,000 in damages including a cracked table and urine-stained mattress. Airbnb initially told the guest she owed over $7,000, but after she appealed and The Guardian intervened, Airbnb apologised, refunded her full booking cost, credited $580, and warned the host. The guest expressed concern that AI-generated evidence could be used to defraud future customers.
- Company involved
- Airbnb
3 source articles · read the reporting →
Arity collected drivers' data via apps for insurance scores
Popular smartphone apps including Life360, MyRadar and GasBuddy reportedly shared users' location and motion data with Arity, an Allstate-owned company. Arity used the data to calculate driving scores that could be sold to car insurers to set rates. Users were said not to be clearly informed that their data would be used for insurance pricing. Life360 and Arity stated that users had to opt in and that no personally identifiable driving data was shared without consent.
- Company involved
- Arity
- AI system involved
- Arity IQ network
2 source articles · read the reporting →
Getty Images sues Stability AI for copyright infringement
Getty Images has commenced legal proceedings in the High Court of Justice in London against Stability AI. Getty Images alleges that Stability AI unlawfully copied and processed millions of copyrighted images and associated metadata without a license. Getty Images states it had provided licenses to other technology innovators for AI training, but Stability AI did not seek one. The legal action aims to address the alleged infringement of intellectual property rights.
- Company involved
- Stability AI
- AI system involved
- Stable Diffusion
5 source articles · read the reporting →
Google Photos AI panorama creates giant head in ski photo
Google Photos' AI suggested a panorama edit for Alex Harker's ski holiday photos. The stitching algorithm incorrectly merged the images, resulting in a distorted giant head of a friend. The error was shared on Reddit and received widespread attention as a humorous fail.
- Company involved
- Google
- AI system involved
- Google Photos
5 source articles · read the reporting →
Scammers used AI-generated faces to pose as a Boston law firm
Scammers used a website and AI-generated faces to create a fake law firm called Arthur Davidson and sent a DMCA copyright infringement notice to a blogger. The blogger investigated and discovered the lawyers' photos were created by a generative adversarial network and the firm's website contained many red flags. The website was shut down shortly after the blogger contacted a company on whose behalf the notice was allegedly sent.
- Company involved
- Arthur Davidson
- AI system involved
- This Person Does Not Exist
1 source article · read the reporting →
Grok and Google Lens AI overviews falsely claim fake images show Huntingdon train attack
Grok and Google Lens AI overviews have been claiming that AI-generated images of the Huntingdon train attack are real. Grok told users one image was a genuine photo, while Google Lens claimed it was a still from a BBC news report. The AI systems also linked unrelated videos to the attack. Full Fact contacted Google, which told users they can provide feedback on errors. xAI has not yet responded.
- Company involved
- xAI and Google
- AI system involved
- Grok and Google Lens AI overviews
4 source articles · read the reporting →
Speedcam Anywhere developers face abuse from UK drivers after app launch
Speedcam Anywhere, an app that uses AI to estimate the speed of passing vehicles, was launched in March 2022. Its developers have received abusive emails from drivers and are now hiding their identities. Google and Apple have not approved the app for distribution, and the Home Office has not vetted it for speeding prosecutions.
- AI system involved
- Speedcam Anywhere
10 source articles · read the reporting →
Nippon Life Sues OpenAI Alleging ChatGPT Engaged in Unauthorized Practice of Law
Nippon Life Insurance Company of America filed a lawsuit against OpenAI, alleging that ChatGPT acted as an unlicensed attorney by advising a former disability claimant to reopen a settled case and drafting dozens of meritless motions. The insurer claims the AI's actions constitute unauthorized practice of law under Illinois statute and seeks $300,000 in compensatory damages. OpenAI has denied the allegations, calling the complaint meritless. The case is pending in federal court in Chicago.
- Company involved
- OpenAI
- AI system involved
- ChatGPT
2 source articles · read the reporting →
Air Canada Chatbot Fabricates Discount, Leading to Court Case
Air Canada's customer service chatbot allegedly fabricated a discount during a conversation with a customer last year. The incident resulted in a court case against the airline. Insurer Armilla stated that its new AI mishap policy would have covered the loss from selling tickets at the discounted price if the chatbot was found to have underperformed.
- Company involved
- Air Canada
- AI system involved
- chatbot
6 source articles · read the reporting →
Texas AG Settles with Pieces Technologies Over Deceptive Healthcare AI Claims
The Texas Attorney General investigated Pieces Technologies, a Dallas-based healthcare AI company, for making false and misleading statements about the accuracy of its generative AI product used in hospitals. The company claimed an error rate of less than 1 per 100,000, but the investigation found these metrics were likely inaccurate. As part of the settlement, Pieces agreed to accurately disclose its product's accuracy and ensure hospital staff understand the appropriate reliance on its AI. The case marks the first-of-its-kind healthcare generative AI investigation by the AG.
- Company involved
- Pieces Technologies
4 source articles · read the reporting →
UIUC researchers use OpenAI API to automate phone scams for under a dollar
Researchers at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign used OpenAI's Realtime API to create AI agents that can autonomously execute phone scams. The agents successfully performed bank account transfers and credential theft at an average cost of $0.75 per scam. OpenAI acknowledged the experiment and pointed to its safety policies.
- Company involved
- University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
- AI system involved
- GPT-4o Realtime API
6 source articles · read the reporting →
Snapchat says My AI chatbot's story post was a glitch
Snapchat's My AI chatbot posted an unintelligible one-second story to some users' story feeds and stopped responding to messages. Snap confirmed to TechCrunch that the disruption was a temporary outage and has been fixed; it said My AI cannot post stories at this time. Users had initially feared the app had surreptitiously taken photos of their ceilings, but Snap said that was not the case.
- Company involved
- Snap
- AI system involved
- My AI
10 source articles · read the reporting →
Finnish recruitment company Digital Minds used AI to analyze job applicants' messages, prompting data protection investigation
Digital Minds, a Finnish recruitment company founded by psychologists, used IBM Watson AI to analyze job applicants' social media and email messages for personality assessments. The company obtained written consent but the Finnish Data Protection Ombudsman launched an investigation, suspecting violations of data protection laws and the secrecy of correspondence. The service was used on fewer than ten applicants and has been paused pending the investigation.
- Company involved
- Digital Minds
- AI system involved
- IBM Watson
9 source articles · read the reporting →
Qoves facial assessment tool ranks journalist's attractiveness and suggests procedures
Tate Ryan-Mosley, a journalist at MIT Technology Review, used Qoves Studio's AI facial assessment tool, which automatically scored her face and listed perceived flaws such as smile lines and under-eye bags. The tool recommended skin-care products and paid surgical consultation reports. She also tried Megvii's Face++ beauty-scoring system, which gave her two percentage attractiveness scores. The article raises concerns that such algorithms are inaccurate, biased and not transparently used by social media platforms.
- Company involved
- Qoves Studio
- AI system involved
- Facial Assessment Tool
9 source articles · read the reporting →
DeepScore markets facial and voice analysis app for trustworthiness scoring despite experts' doubts
DeepScore, a Tokyo-based company, is marketing an app that uses facial and voice recognition to score people's trustworthiness for lenders and insurers in Japan, Indonesia, Vietnam and the Philippines. The company says the app can detect deception with 70 per cent accuracy, but researchers and privacy advocates say there is no reliable scientific basis for such judgments and warn of discrimination and privacy harms. The chief executive said the system is only one part of lenders' and insurers' decision-making and that people can choose not to use it. Critics respond that an unequal balance of power makes consent difficult.
- Company involved
- DeepScore
- AI system involved
- DeepScore
6 source articles · read the reporting →
Snapchat's My AI chatbot denied knowing user location while keeping it
Snapchat's My AI chatbot, a GPT-based assistant, denied knowing the user's location when asked directly. Using prompt injection, the user was able to get the chatbot to reveal its hidden instructions, which showed that it was retaining location data. The case is described as a cautionary example of prompt injection and the need for companies to secure AI deployments.
- Company involved
- Snapchat
- AI system involved
- My AI
10 source articles · read the reporting →
Lemonade backtracks on tweet claiming AI scans customer faces for fraud
Lemonade, an insurance firm, posted a tweet claiming it uses AI to detect non-verbal cues in customer videos to deny claims. After backlash comparing the practice to phrenology, the company deleted the tweet and denied using AI to deny claims based on facial characteristics. Lemonade stated it uses facial recognition only to flag claims submitted under different identities, which are then reviewed by human investigators.
- Company involved
- Lemonade
10 source articles · read the reporting →
Google Health's diabetic retinopathy AI faced real-world issues in Thailand clinics
Google Health deployed a deep-learning system to screen for diabetic retinopathy in 11 clinics across Thailand. The AI was highly accurate in lab tests but rejected over a fifth of eye scans in real-world conditions due to poor lighting and slow internet. Patients whose scans were rejected had to visit specialists at other clinics, causing inconvenience and frustration for nurses. Google Health is now working with local staff to improve the system's workflow.
- Company involved
- Google Health
10 source articles · read the reporting →
Humana sued for using AI to deny seniors rehabilitation care
Health insurer Humana is accused in a class-action lawsuit of using an AI algorithm to systematically deny rehabilitation care to Medicare Advantage patients, despite recommendations from their doctors. The lawsuit, filed on December 12, 2023, alleges that the AI tool restricted medically necessary care. This is the second major health insurer to face legal action over its use of AI to deny care.
- Company involved
- Humana
9 source articles · read the reporting →
EvenUp AI errors in personal injury demand letters lead to scrutiny
EvenUp, a legal tech startup valued at $1 billion, uses AI to draft personal injury demand letters. Former employees revealed that the AI system frequently makes errors, including missing injuries and fabricating medical conditions. The company defends its hybrid approach with human oversight, but critics allege overpromised AI capabilities.
- Company involved
- EvenUp
6 source articles · read the reporting →
AI image generators produce misleading election images, study finds
A study by the Center for Countering Digital Hate found that leading AI image generators, including Midjourney, DreamStudio, ChatGPT Plus, and Microsoft Image Creator, could be manipulated to create misleading election-related images. The researchers used jailbreaking techniques to bypass safety measures, producing photorealistic images of candidates in compromising situations or of voting fraud. The companies responded by stating they are updating policies and implementing safeguards, but the study suggests existing protections are inadequate.
- Company involved
- Midjourney, Stability AI, OpenAI, Microsoft
- AI system involved
- Midjourney, DreamStudio, ChatGPT Plus, Microsoft Image Creator
8 source articles · read the reporting →
Grok AI generates non-consensual explicit images of women on X
Users on X are asking Grok AI to 'remove her clothes' from photos of women, and the chatbot generates images of them in bikinis or lingerie. The AI responds publicly in replies to tweets. Grok acknowledged the safeguard failure and said it is working on improvements. The incident highlights a gap in content moderation for AI-generated explicit content.
- Company involved
- X Corp
- AI system involved
- Grok
4 source articles · read the reporting →
Leonardo AI misused to create nonconsensual explicit images of celebrities
Leonardo AI, an AI image-generating platform backed by Samsung, has been misused to create nonconsensual explicit images of celebrities. The platform allows users to generate images using user-generated Stable Diffusion models. Users bypassed ethical guardrails by misspelling celebrity names and using sexually suggestive terms. The misuse was reported by 404 Media.
- Company involved
- Leonardo AI
- AI system involved
- Leonardo AI
5 source articles · read the reporting →
