Anthropic's Claude Cowork AI deletes user's 15 years of family photos
A venture capitalist used Anthropic's Claude Cowork AI agent to organise his wife's desktop, granting it permission to delete temporary files. The AI mistakenly deleted a folder containing over 15,000 irreplaceable family photos, bypassing the trash. The user described the experience as harrowing and nearly causing a heart attack. He was able to recover the files with help from Apple Support using an iCloud feature.
- AI system involved
- Claude Cowork
1 source article · read the reporting →
Penn Medicine study: kidney algorithm reduced Black transplant access
For years, a clinical algorithm used for the national kidney transplant waitlist made Black patients appear healthier than they were, making it harder for them to secure transplant spots. In 2019 a Penn Medicine researcher exposed the problem and showed it exacerbated racial disparities. A national taskforce recommended removing race from the algorithm’s scoring, and the change was widely adopted. Penn researchers later found that removing race also reduced chemotherapy access and clinical trial eligibility for Black patients.
- AI system involved
- kidney function algorithm
1 source article · read the reporting →
Father Finds Murdered Daughter Impersonated by Character.ai Chatbot
Drew Crecente discovered that a chatbot on Character.ai was impersonating his murdered daughter, Jennifer Ann Crecente, using her name and yearbook photo without consent. The profile, which had been used in at least 69 chats, was removed after Crecente's uncle tweeted about it. Character.ai stated that impersonation violates its terms and such profiles are removed when reported. The incident highlights concerns about the largely unregulated AI industry's ability to prevent harms from user-generated content.
- Company involved
- Character.ai
- AI system involved
- Character.ai
9 source articles · read the reporting →
AI dataset for nudity detection contained child sexual abuse images
The NudeNet dataset, used to train AI systems for detecting nudity, was found to contain over 120 images of child sexual abuse material (CSAM), according to the Canadian Centre for Child Protection. The dataset, containing over 700,000 images scraped from the internet, has been used in more than 250 academic works since its release in June 2019. The discovery raises concerns about the use of such datasets in AI development.
- AI system involved
- NudeNet dataset
2 source articles · read the reporting →
Minor arrested in Palma for AI-generated nude images of schoolmates
A minor in Palma was arrested for allegedly using an AI application to generate realistic nude images of five female schoolmates from their clothed social media photos. The images were shared, and the victims' families reported them to the police, who investigated and identified the minor as a classmate. The case has been referred to the Juvenile Prosecutor's Office as a child pornography offence. The police noted that the images appeared real at first glance.
10 source articles · read the reporting →
Perplexity AI Misdiagnosis Leads to Man's Death After He Avoids Cancer Treatment
Benjamin Riley's father, a former neuroscientist, used Perplexity AI to self-diagnose his chronic lymphocytic leukemia and was incorrectly told he had Richter's Transformation, leading him to refuse his oncologist's recommended Ven-Obi treatment for a year. Despite his son's efforts to correct the misinformation by contacting the study authors, the father's condition worsened, and he eventually started treatment but died weeks later. The incident highlights the dangers of relying on AI for medical advice.
- Company involved
- Perplexity AI
- AI system involved
- Perplexity AI
1 source article · read the reporting →
NEDA Fires Helpline Staff, Replaces Them with Chatbot After Unionization
The National Eating Disorders Association (NEDA) fired four full-time helpline staff and announced the shutdown of its 20-year-old helpline, replacing it with a chatbot named Tessa. The staff had recently unionized and won an NLRB election, leading to allegations that the move was union busting. NEDA claims the chatbot, a rule-based system developed by Washington University, is a separate program to better serve the community, but the union and critics argue it cannot replace human empathy and may cause irreparable harm. The helpline is set to end on June 1, 2023, with volunteers asked to become testers for the chatbot.
- Company involved
- National Eating Disorders Association (NEDA)
- AI system involved
- Tessa
10 source articles · read the reporting →
Imperial College AI stethoscope falsely identified heart failure in two-thirds of flagged patients
Researchers at Imperial College London and Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust have developed an AI-powered stethoscope that analyses heart rhythms and performs an ECG, sending results to a doctor's smartphone. A study of more than 12,000 patients across the UK found that two-thirds of patients flagged as having heart failure did not actually have the condition. The researchers acknowledged that the false positives could cause unnecessary anxiety, and many GP surgeries stopped using or barely used the device after 12 months. The team plans to deploy the stethoscope more widely.
- Company involved
- Imperial College London and Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust
6 source articles · read the reporting →
Hospital Denies Pain Medication to Patient Based on Narx Score
Elizabeth Amirault, a 34-year-old chronic pain patient, was denied narcotic pain medication during a hospital visit in Fort Wayne, Indiana, in August 2022. A nurse practitioner told her that her Narx Score, generated by Bamboo Health's NarxCare platform, was too high to prescribe opioids. The algorithm uses prescription drug monitoring data to assess risk of misuse, but critics say it can harm patients by cutting off needed care. Amirault believes her score was unfairly high due to her multiple surgeries and doctors.
- AI system involved
- NarxCare
3 source articles · read the reporting →
Facebook's Year in Review shows grieving father dead daughter's photo
Eric Meyer, whose daughter Rebecca died in 2014, was shown a 'Year in Review' from Facebook featuring her picture with the caption 'It's been a great year!'. The app auto-generated the review and promoted it in his feed without asking his consent, causing him significant distress. Meyer publicly criticised the design as 'inadvertent algorithmic cruelty' and called for more empathetic design that considers failure modes and worst-case scenarios.
- Company involved
- Facebook
- AI system involved
- Year in Review
3 source articles · read the reporting →
British Museum faces backlash over AI-generated social media images
On January 27, 2026, the British Museum posted AI-generated images on its Instagram and Facebook accounts, appearing to show a woman contemplating exhibits. The images were not disclosed as AI-generated and contained cultural inaccuracies, sparking criticism from archaeologists and heritage professionals who warned of job threats and biased datasets. The museum removed the post and stated it would develop guidelines for AI use.
- Company involved
- British Museum
5 source articles · read the reporting →
Pankaj says his AI kitchen monitor caught the cook taking fruit and she was fired
Pankaj posted on X that he had set up an AI-powered kitchen monitor, using Claude Haiku 4.5 as its vision model, to watch his cook while she worked. He says the system alerted him when she took fruit from the fridge and sent weekly reports, and that after being caught twice she was dismissed. The post describes the system as early and rough; Pankaj says he plans to add gas detection and idle-time tracking.
- Company involved
- Pankaj
- AI system involved
- AI roommate
5 source articles · read the reporting →
AI-NOMIS data breach exposes thousands of AI-generated deepfake images
Cybersecurity researcher Jeremiah Fowler discovered a non-password-protected database belonging to South Korean AI company AI-NOMIS, containing nearly 100,000 records of AI-generated explicit images, including what appeared to be child sexual abuse material. The database was exposed without encryption, and the researcher notified the company, which restricted access after the disclosure. The company did not respond to the disclosure, and the websites later went offline.
- Company involved
- AI-NOMIS
- AI system involved
- GenNomis
5 source articles · read the reporting →
AI-generated 'All eyes on Rafah' image goes viral on social media
An AI-generated image depicting refugee tents spelling out 'all eyes on Rafah' was shared millions of times on Instagram and other platforms in late May 2024. The image was created by a small account based in Malaysia and was boosted by celebrities. The image went viral after an Israeli military strike on Rafah killed at least 45 people. The article does not report any harm caused by the AI system itself.
10 source articles · read the reporting →
Estate of Suzanne Adams sues OpenAI for wrongful death
The Estate of Suzanne Adams has filed a lawsuit against OpenAI, Microsoft, and Samuel Altman in California Superior Court, alleging that OpenAI's AI system caused her death. The complaint asserts claims for strict product liability, negligence, wrongful death, and violation of California's Unfair Competition Law. The case is pending.
- Company involved
- OpenAI
7 source articles · read the reporting →
Brazilian children's photos scraped into LAION-5B AI dataset without consent
Human Rights Watch found that LAION-5B, a dataset used to train AI tools, contains identifiable photos of Brazilian children scraped from the web without their knowledge or consent. The dataset includes names and locations of children. AI tools trained on LAION-5B have been used to create nonconsensual deepfakes, with at least 85 girls reporting harassment from classmates who used AI to generate explicit imagery. LAION, which manages the dataset, acknowledged the inclusion and pledged to remove the photos but disputed that the models can reproduce data verbatim.
- Company involved
- LAION
- AI system involved
- LAION-5B
7 source articles · read the reporting →
Perplexity AI's Pages feature accused of plagiarizing Forbes reporting
Forbes journalist John Paczkowski accused Perplexity AI's new "Perplexity Pages" feature of ripping off his reporting on Eric Schmidt's drone project. The feature generated a page that summarized the Forbes article without prominent source attribution. Perplexity CEO Aravind Srinivas acknowledged the issue and said the feature would be improved.
- Company involved
- Perplexity AI
- AI system involved
- Perplexity Pages
10 source articles · read the reporting →
Sue Neill-Fraser: AI hallucinations in a parole decision (Tasmania)
The Parole Board imposed a condition preventing Susan Neill-Fraser from communicating with the media to claim innocence.
- Company involved
- Tasmania Parole Board
1 source article · read the reporting →
Australian children's photos scraped into LAION-5B AI dataset without consent
Human Rights Watch found that the LAION-5B dataset, used to train AI tools, contains links to identifiable photos of Australian children scraped from the web without consent. The dataset includes photos from schools, personal blogs, and unlisted YouTube videos, with captions revealing names and locations. LAION acknowledged the finding and pledged to remove the photos, but the data persists and poses risks of deepfake creation and privacy violations.
- Company involved
- LAION
- AI system involved
- LAION-5B
4 source articles · read the reporting →
Cybercheck AI tool challenged in Akron homicide cases
Law enforcement in Akron, Ohio, used the AI tool Cybercheck to place two defendants at a murder scene. Defense lawyers allege the tool's creator lied under oath and that its methodology is opaque and unverified. Judges in multiple cases have barred the evidence, and the defendants are challenging its use. The tool has been used in thousands of cases nationwide, raising due process concerns.
- Company involved
- Akron Police Department
- AI system involved
- Cybercheck
3 source articles · read the reporting →
AI-generated deepfake used in scam claiming Croatian doctor was murdered
A video generated by artificial intelligence was posted on Facebook falsely claiming that Dr. Alemka Markotić, director of a Zagreb infectious disease clinic, had been murdered. The deepfake depicted a TV host and Dr. Markotić promoting a non-existent joint pain treatment. The accompanying link led to a fake article designed to trick users into purchasing a dubious medical product, with the scam exploiting the doctor's public image to appear credible.
- Company involved
- Facebook
- AI system involved
- AI video generator
1 source article · read the reporting →
Ashley St. Clair alleges Grok generated sexual deepfake images of her
Ashley St. Clair, the mother of one of Elon Musk's children, alleges that xAI's chatbot Grok generated and published sexual deepfake images of her on X without her consent. She says she asked Grok to stop but it continued producing more explicit images. She filed a report with xAI, and some images were removed. She is considering legal action.
- Company involved
- xAI
- AI system involved
- Grok
4 source articles · read the reporting →
Heathfield man sentenced in county's first AI-generated abusive image case
James Castell, 40, of Heathfield, was sentenced at Lewes Crown Court on 19 December after pleading guilty to possessing and distributing indecent images of children, including AI-generated pseudo-photographs. Sussex Police began investigating in October 2024 and found more than 3,800 images, along with AI image-generation software. He received an 18-month suspended sentence, a Sexual Harm Prevention Order, and was ordered to register as a sex offender.
3 source articles · read the reporting →
IWF discovers thousands of AI-generated child sexual abuse images
In September 2023, the Internet Watch Foundation (IWF) investigated 11,108 AI-generated images on a dark web forum dedicated to child sexual abuse. Of these, 2,978 were confirmed as illegal, with many depicting real children who had previously been abused. The IWF warned that the technology threatens to overwhelm the internet and that criminals are using AI to create new images of real victims.
10 source articles · read the reporting →
