The public record

Where automated decisions went wrong

Incidents gathered from public reporting around the world. Each one links to the articles it came from. None of it is a finding that anyone broke the law.

Self-reported incidents, a person’s own public post or an account given to us, are listed but locked; subscribers open each one with credits. Reports filed through this site are listed only with the reporter’s agreement.

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4,442 incidentspress and self-reported

Page 76 of 186

Press reportingSelf-reported: a person’s own public post · 10 creditsSelf-reported: told to us directly · 25 credits

WF-03V5V4Happened 1 Jan 2021Live 5 Oct 2026
PimEyes faces fine proceedings over biometric facial recognition in Baden-Württemberg
PimEyes, a facial recognition search engine, is accused of scraping images from the internet and processing biometric data without a valid legal basis under the GDPR. The data protection authority of Baden-Württemberg (LfDI) opened fine proceedings after it found PimEyes's response to its questions inadequate. PimEyes argues that the images it processes are publicly available and not personal data. The LfDI says the processing endangers citizens' rights and freedoms and is not covered by the GDPR exceptions.
Company
PimEyes
AI system
PimEyes
9 source articlesbaden-wuerttemberg.datenschutz.de
WF-UVEWRGLive 5 Oct 2026
PimEyes facial recognition used to unmask porn actors and Facebook friends
A man used the facial recognition site PimEyes to identify porn actors and women from his Facebook friends by uploading their photos and finding matching images online. The system had no controls to prevent searching for others without consent. The article alleges that this invasion of privacy could lead to discrimination and harassment, and that PimEyes offered a paid service to remove photos but did not prevent the searches.
Company
PimEyes
AI system
PimEyes
3 source articleswired.com
WF-KP1RIWLive 5 Oct 2026
Woman raped in Meta's Horizon Worlds metaverse, report claims
A SumOfUs report alleges that a 21-year-old researcher was virtually raped by another user in Meta's Horizon Worlds metaverse while others watched. The incident happened after she turned off the Personal Boundary safety feature. Meta said it does not recommend turning off the feature with people you do not know. The report also cites other instances of harassment on the platform.
Company
Meta
AI system
Horizon Worlds
10 source articlesindiatimes.com
WF-VWAUQ2Live 5 Oct 2026
PimEyes facial recognition search makes children's images searchable without safeguards
PimEyes, an online facial recognition search engine, allows anyone to search for images of children scraped from public websites, including photos labeled as 'potentially explicit.' The system poses risks of stalking, exploitation, and privacy violations for minors. The company's owner acknowledged the issue and said it is working on safeguards, but no changes have been implemented.
Company
PimEyes
AI system
PimEyes
3 source articlestheintercept.com
WF-P157YDLive 5 Oct 2026
PimEyes facial search engine accused of enabling stalking
Privacy campaign group Big Brother Watch has filed a complaint against PimEyes, a facial recognition search engine, alleging it facilitates stalking and unlawfully processes biometric data of millions of UK citizens. The system allows users to search for faces in publicly posted images. PimEyes' CEO denies the allegations, stating the tool poses fewer risks than social media. The UK Information Commissioner's Office is assessing the complaint.
Company
PimEyes
AI system
PimEyes
9 source articlesbbc.co.uk
WF-JC6497Live 5 Oct 2026
PimEyes facial recognition search engine identifies individuals from public photos
PimEyes, a Polish facial recognition search engine, allows users to upload a photo and find matching images from across the internet. The system scrapes billions of photos and creates biometric profiles without consent. A banker named Dylan (pseudonym) discovered that an old party photo of him was found by the system, potentially outing his private life. Privacy advocates and platforms like Instagram and YouTube are taking action against PimEyes, alleging violations of the GDPR.
Company
PimEyes
AI system
PimEyes
6 source articlesnetzpolitik.org
WF-A3UJM2Live 5 Oct 2026
Mahindra Racing partners with AI woman Ava Rose as ambassador, drawing criticism
Mahindra Racing, a Formula E team, announced a partnership with Ava Rose, an AI-generated woman, to serve as its 'artificial intelligence ambassador' for the season. The team is accused of avoiding hiring a real woman for the role, drawing criticism from women in motorsport and others. The AI persona, who has an Instagram presence, will engage with fans and share behind-the-scenes content. Mahindra Racing has not responded publicly to the backlash.
Company
Mahindra Racing
AI system
Ava Rose
7 source articlesjalopnik.com
WF-IEKSX3Happened 1 Jan 2023Live 5 Oct 2026
PimEyes scraped Ancestry.com for photos of dead people without permission.
PimEyes, a facial recognition search engine, scraped images from Ancestry.com and other websites without authorization, including photos of deceased individuals. The company's algorithms indexed the images to create biometric faceprints, potentially allowing identification of living relatives. Cher Scarlett discovered the scraping after finding photos of her deceased sister on the platform. PimEyes has since blocked Ancestry's domain and is removing the indexes, but privacy concerns remain.
Company
PimEyes
AI system
PimEyes
7 source articleswired.com
WF-HON2R4Live 5 Oct 2026
Woman discovers past photos via facial recognition search
A woman scanned her face on a facial recognition search engine and discovered old photographs from a traumatic period in her past that she believed were forgotten. The incident highlights privacy risks of facial recognition technology.
6 source articlesedition.cnn.com
WF-RA120AHappened 6 Jan 2024Live 5 Oct 2026
Chattr.ai exposed job applicant data due to insecure Firebase rules
A security researcher discovered that Chattr.ai, an AI hiring system used by many fast food chains, had a Firebase database with insecure security rules. By registering a new user, the researcher gained full read/write access to the database, exposing personal data of job applicants and employees, including names, phone numbers, emails, and some plaintext passwords. The vulnerability was reported to Chattr.ai on 9 January and patched the next day, but the company did not provide further contact or thanks.
Company
Chattr.ai
AI system
Chattr.ai
6 source articlesmrbruh.com
WF-S9CODAHappened 2 Jan 2024Live 5 Oct 2026
AI deepfake of Taylor Swift used in fake Le Creuset giveaway scam
Facebook ads used an AI-generated deepfake video of Taylor Swift to claim she was giving away free Le Creuset cookware. The clips led to websites requesting personal information and a payment for shipping. McAfee said the video was an AI-generated deepfake scam. Le Creuset told AFP it had never partnered with Swift and advised consumers to check official accounts.
10 source articlesfactcheck.afp.com
WF-5Y01XBHappened 1 Aug 2021Live 5 Oct 2026
Bruce Willis sells rights to allow deepfake digital twin
Bruce Willis reportedly sold his image rights to Deepcake, a company that creates AI-powered deepfakes, allowing a digital twin of the actor to be used in commercials. A representative for Willis later denied any partnership with Deepcake. The digital twin first appeared in a Russian telecom commercial in August 2021.
Company
Deepcake
10 source articlesdailymail.co.uk
WF-4IX4DQHappened 1 Aug 2023Live 5 Oct 2026
Wizards of the Coast acknowledges AI-generated art in D&D book, updates policies
Dungeons & Dragons publisher Wizards of the Coast acknowledged that AI-generated artwork was included in its sourcebook 'Bigby Presents: Glory of the Giants', which released digitally on August 1, 2023. The artist, Ilya Shkipin, admitted using AI for 'polish and editing' after community members pointed out inconsistencies. Wizards stated they were unaware of the AI use and are revising artist guidelines to ban AI art going forward. The AI-generated images remain in the digital and physical editions of the book.
Company
Wizards of the Coast
9 source articlespolygon.com
WF-CC2GEGLive 5 Oct 2026
Ubisoft faces backlash after announcing Ghostwriter AI writing tool
Ubisoft has announced Ubisoft Ghostwriter, an AI tool that generates first drafts of non-player character dialogue. The company says it saves writers time, but writers and creatives have criticised it, saying it will require time-consuming editing and could lead to job losses and lower-quality narratives. Ubisoft says the tool is already in use in some of its games, though it has not named them.
Company
Ubisoft
AI system
Ubisoft Ghostwriter
10 source articlesgameshub.com
WF-1RDNU8Happened 7 Jan 2024Live 5 Oct 2026
Magic: The Gathering admits marketing image used AI
Magic: The Gathering posted a marketing image and initially claimed it was not created using AI. After community members pointed out AI components, the company admitted the mistake. The image was created by a vendor using AI tools in Photoshop. The company is now evaluating its vendor policies.
Company
Magic: The Gathering
AI system
Photoshop
10 source articlestwitter.com
WF-D8FL1CHappened 1 Oct 2023Live 5 Oct 2026
Deepfake Tom Hanks promotes dental plan without consent
An unknown entity used an AI-generated deepfake video of actor Tom Hanks to promote a dental plan without his authorization. Hanks warned his Instagram followers about the video, stating he had nothing to do with it. The incident occurs amid ongoing Hollywood strikes over the use of AI in entertainment.
10 source articlesgizmodo.com
WF-LN1XABHappened 1 Jan 2021Live 5 Oct 2026
California EDD's automated fraud detection wrongly suspended 600,000 legitimate unemployment claims
In January 2021, the California Employment Development Department used Thompson Reuters automated batch review software to flag 1.1 million unemployment claims as potentially fraudulent. EDD stopped payments on those claims without prior notice. Later, over 600,000 were confirmed as legitimate after claimants used ID.me to verify their identity. The incident highlights the trade-off between fraud prevention and timely benefit access.
Company
California Employment Development Department (EDD)
AI system
Thompson Reuters Automated Batch Review
7 source articleslao.ca.gov
WF-XZ2X6VHappened 25 Dec 2023Live 5 Oct 2026
NewsBreak publishes AI-generated false article about Christmas Day murder in Bridgeton
NewsBreak, a news platform, published an AI-generated article falsely claiming a Christmas Day murder in Bridgeton, New Jersey. The article, which had no author and included a disclaimer about AI assistance, was entirely fabricated. Police confirmed no such event occurred. The article was later deleted, and NewsBreak did not respond to inquiries.
Company
NewsBreak
10 source articlesboingboing.net
WF-X35PRWHappened 2 Jan 2024Live 5 Oct 2026
ChatGPT 3.5 misdiagnosed most pediatric cases in study
A study published in JAMA Pediatrics found that ChatGPT version 3.5 provided incorrect diagnoses for 83 out of 100 pediatric case challenges. The chatbot's errors included both completely wrong diagnoses and diagnoses that were too broad. The researchers noted that the chatbot failed to identify relationships such as that between autism and vitamin deficiencies, and suggested that more selective training is needed to improve accuracy.
Company
OpenAI
AI system
ChatGPT version 3.5
7 source articlesmedpagetoday.com
WF-QVH2VAHappened 10 Dec 2023Live 5 Oct 2026
Investing.com uses AI to copy competitors' articles without credit
Investing.com, a financial news site owned by Joffre Capital, is accused of using AI to generate stories that closely resemble articles published by competitors such as CryptoNewsLand, The Motley Fool, and FXStreet. The AI-generated pieces often cite the same statistics and sources as the originals but do not credit them. Competitors like FXStreet have expressed concern that this practice threatens original journalism. Investing.com disclosed AI assistance in its stories but did not respond to requests for comment.
Company
Investing.com
AI system
Unnamed AI content generation system
8 source articlessemafor.com
WF-G6M0D3Happened 6 Feb 2023Live 5 Oct 2026
Google's Bard chatbot makes factual error in launch tweet
Google launched Bard, an experimental conversational AI service, on February 6, 2023. In a promotional GIF, Bard incorrectly claimed that the first image of an exoplanet was taken by the James Webb Space Telescope, when it was actually taken by the Very Large Telescope 17 years earlier. The error was pointed out by astronomers on social media.
Company
Google
AI system
Bard
10 source articlestwitter.com
WF-JCZAM9Live 5 Oct 2026
British police investigate virtual rape of child's avatar in metaverse game
A child under 16 in the UK had her avatar sexually assaulted by a group of adult men in the metaverse game Horizon Worlds. The victim suffered psychological trauma similar to physical rape. British police are investigating the incident, which is believed to be the first virtual rape case in the UK. Meta, the platform's owner, stated that such behaviour has no place on its platform.
Company
Meta
AI system
Horizon Worlds
10 source articlesdailymail.co.uk
WF-5IT5IVHappened 31 Dec 2023Live 5 Oct 2026
AI used to finish painting that artist left incomplete
A social media post used AI to complete an unfinished painting, saying the story behind it was sad. Other users objected that the artist had deliberately left the work unfinished. One response said the artist's estate should sue.
7 source articlestwitter.com
WF-W2CRPIHappened 23 Dec 2023Live 5 Oct 2026
Midjourney v6 accused of generating near-identical copyrighted images
Midjourney's v6 image generator has been criticized for producing images that closely resemble copyrighted movie scenes, such as a Joaquin Phoenix Joker scene. Artist Reid Southen accused the company of using copyrighted content without a license and said his account was banned. Midjourney has updated its terms of service to hold users responsible for intentional copyright infringement. The company faces multiple lawsuits over training data.
Company
Midjourney
AI system
Midjourney v6
7 source articlesthe-decoder.com

Each incident is written from the reporting or the account it cites. A report is an allegation, not a finding.

PimEyes faces fine proceedings over biometric facial recognition in Baden-Württemberg

PimEyes facial recognition used to unmask porn actors and Facebook friends

Woman raped in Meta's Horizon Worlds metaverse, report claims

PimEyes facial recognition search makes children's images searchable without safeguards

PimEyes facial search engine accused of enabling stalking

PimEyes facial recognition search engine identifies individuals from public photos

Mahindra Racing partners with AI woman Ava Rose as ambassador, drawing criticism

PimEyes scraped Ancestry.com for photos of dead people without permission.

Woman discovers past photos via facial recognition search

Chattr.ai exposed job applicant data due to insecure Firebase rules

AI deepfake of Taylor Swift used in fake Le Creuset giveaway scam

Bruce Willis sells rights to allow deepfake digital twin

Wizards of the Coast acknowledges AI-generated art in D&D book, updates policies

Ubisoft faces backlash after announcing Ghostwriter AI writing tool

Magic: The Gathering admits marketing image used AI

Deepfake Tom Hanks promotes dental plan without consent

California EDD's automated fraud detection wrongly suspended 600,000 legitimate unemployment claims

NewsBreak publishes AI-generated false article about Christmas Day murder in Bridgeton

ChatGPT 3.5 misdiagnosed most pediatric cases in study

Investing.com uses AI to copy competitors' articles without credit

Google's Bard chatbot makes factual error in launch tweet

British police investigate virtual rape of child's avatar in metaverse game

AI used to finish painting that artist left incomplete

Midjourney v6 accused of generating near-identical copyrighted images