Risks of unregulated AI

The risks experts warned about are already happening.

Unregulated AI is already being used to spread misinformation, impersonate real people, automate fraud, and undermine trust in democratic systems. These risks aren’t theoretical—they’re unfolding right now.

Already convinced? Start here:

Recent AI Incidents

Real-world failures collected from the AI Incident Database , curated into a quick snapshot.

Purportedly AI-Generated Image Reportedly Prompted Police Alert and Search for Nonexistent Venomous Viper in Santa Ana, California
Sep 28, 2026
AI Agent Appearing to Originate from OpenAI Reportedly Attempted to Hack U.S. Department of Education Civil Rights Website
Sep 25, 2026
Russia-Linked Matryoshka Operators Reportedly Circulated Deepfake Mother Jones Video Impersonating Editor Clara Jeffery and Falsely Claiming DNC Paid CNN $259 Million
Sep 22, 2026
Stanford University Acknowledged Using AI to Alter Student Photo for Campus Banners, Replacing Hispanic Student With Black Woman
Sep 21, 2026
Anthropic's Claude Code AI Agent Reportedly Deleted About 48,000 Live Project Files and Version-Control History During Software Repair
Sep 19, 2026
AI Chatbot Reportedly Misidentified Chinese Ship Cargo as Nuclear-Program Components, Prompting U.S. Military Interception Preparations
Sep 18, 2026
Z.ai's ZCode AI Coding Assistant Reportedly Uploaded Developers' Local Code Repositories to Alibaba Cloud Without Consent
Sep 18, 2026
AI Agent Reportedly Exploited Application Vulnerabilities to Modify Personal Data and Access Invoices in Breach Reported to Spanish Data Protection Authority
Sep 14, 2026
AI-Generated Images Purporting to Show Donald Trump Kissing White House Aide Natalie Harp Went Viral on Social Media
Sep 14, 2026
Anthropic-Designated GTG-87001 Weapons Cell in Northern Yemen Reportedly Used Claude Code to Develop Missile Guidance Software
Sep 10, 2026
Russia-Linked Matryoshka Influence Operation Reportedly Used AI-Cloned Celebrity Voices and Fabricated News-Style Videos to Target Democratic Candidates Ahead of 2026 U.S. Midterms
Sep 10, 2026
Early Claude Opus 4.6 Checkpoint Reportedly Gained Unauthorized Admin Access to Third-Party System During Cybersecurity Evaluation
Sep 9, 2026
Purportedly AI-Generated Image Reportedly Prompted Police Alert and Search for Nonexistent Venomous Viper in Santa Ana, California
Sep 28, 2026
AI Agent Appearing to Originate from OpenAI Reportedly Attempted to Hack U.S. Department of Education Civil Rights Website
Sep 25, 2026
Russia-Linked Matryoshka Operators Reportedly Circulated Deepfake Mother Jones Video Impersonating Editor Clara Jeffery and Falsely Claiming DNC Paid CNN $259 Million
Sep 22, 2026
Stanford University Acknowledged Using AI to Alter Student Photo for Campus Banners, Replacing Hispanic Student With Black Woman
Sep 21, 2026
Anthropic's Claude Code AI Agent Reportedly Deleted About 48,000 Live Project Files and Version-Control History During Software Repair
Sep 19, 2026
AI Chatbot Reportedly Misidentified Chinese Ship Cargo as Nuclear-Program Components, Prompting U.S. Military Interception Preparations
Sep 18, 2026
Z.ai's ZCode AI Coding Assistant Reportedly Uploaded Developers' Local Code Repositories to Alibaba Cloud Without Consent
Sep 18, 2026
AI Agent Reportedly Exploited Application Vulnerabilities to Modify Personal Data and Access Invoices in Breach Reported to Spanish Data Protection Authority
Sep 14, 2026
AI-Generated Images Purporting to Show Donald Trump Kissing White House Aide Natalie Harp Went Viral on Social Media
Sep 14, 2026
Anthropic-Designated GTG-87001 Weapons Cell in Northern Yemen Reportedly Used Claude Code to Develop Missile Guidance Software
Sep 10, 2026
Russia-Linked Matryoshka Influence Operation Reportedly Used AI-Cloned Celebrity Voices and Fabricated News-Style Videos to Target Democratic Candidates Ahead of 2026 U.S. Midterms
Sep 10, 2026
Early Claude Opus 4.6 Checkpoint Reportedly Gained Unauthorized Admin Access to Third-Party System During Cybersecurity Evaluation
Sep 9, 2026

The library

Read, watch & listen

A curated, regularly updated collection of reliable reporting and research on the real-world risks of AI today.

AI Hiring Tools Can Yield Racial Bias and Systemic Rejection
ArticleStanford HAI

AI Hiring Tools Can Yield Racial Bias and Systemic Rejection

AI's Hit to Entry-Level Jobs Is Real and Persisting
ArticleFortune

AI's Hit to Entry-Level Jobs Is Real and Persisting

Parental Controls Are Not the Answer to AI Slop for Kids
ArticleThe Seattle Times

Parental Controls Are Not the Answer to AI Slop for Kids

YouTube Is Pushing AI Videos to Toddlers and Preschoolers
ArticleThe New York Times

YouTube Is Pushing AI Videos to Toddlers and Preschoolers

AI Job Cuts Are Rising, but Layoffs Are Only Part of It
ArticleCBS News

AI Job Cuts Are Rising, but Layoffs Are Only Part of It

145 AI Laws Passed in 2025 as Privacy Teams Strain
ArticleHelp Net Security

145 AI Laws Passed in 2025 as Privacy Teams Strain

How To Prove You're Not AI
PodcastNPR

How To Prove You're Not AI

New York Passes Kids Chatbot Safety Bill
ArticleTransparency Coalition

New York Passes Kids Chatbot Safety Bill

Voice-First Chatbots Will Exacerbate AI's Mental Health Threat
ArticleSTAT

Voice-First Chatbots Will Exacerbate AI's Mental Health Threat

Elder Fraud Rises as Scammers Use AI
ArticleJournal of Accountancy

Elder Fraud Rises as Scammers Use AI

AI Slop Drives States to Act as Federal Rules Lag
ArticleBloomberg Government

AI Slop Drives States to Act as Federal Rules Lag

Google DeepMind Is Worried About Millions of AI Agents Interacting
ArticleMIT Technology Review

Google DeepMind Is Worried About Millions of AI Agents Interacting

Ring’s Hidden Data Let Us Map Amazon’s Sprawling Home Surveillance Network
ArticleGizmodo

Ring’s Hidden Data Let Us Map Amazon’s Sprawling Home Surveillance Network

If Anyone Builds It, Everyone Dies
BookIf Anyone Builds It

If Anyone Builds It, Everyone Dies

Hank Green
VideoYouTube

Hank Green

Wrongful Arrests Reveal Facial Recognition Risks
ArticleMozilla Foundation

Wrongful Arrests Reveal Facial Recognition Risks

New York Times Sues Perplexity AI
ArticleReuters

New York Times Sues Perplexity AI

AI Deepfakes Used to Impersonate Doctors
ArticleWeLiveSecurity

AI Deepfakes Used to Impersonate Doctors

Sasha Luccioni, Hidden Costs of AI TED Talk
VideoYouTube

Sasha Luccioni, Hidden Costs of AI TED Talk

Into AI Safety
PodcastInto AI Safety

Into AI Safety

For Humanity: An AI Safety Podcast
PodcastApple Podcasts

For Humanity: An AI Safety Podcast

AI Mental Health Chatbots Fail Users
ArticleStanford News

AI Mental Health Chatbots Fail Users

More Perfect Union, The State of AI Regulation
VideoYouTube

More Perfect Union, The State of AI Regulation

AI Tools Used to Create Child Abuse Imagery
ArticleWIRED

AI Tools Used to Create Child Abuse Imagery

The AI Bubble is Worse Than you Think
VideoYouTube

The AI Bubble is Worse Than you Think

Senator Bernie Sanders, Threats of AI are real
VideoYouTube

Senator Bernie Sanders, Threats of AI are real

Your Undivided Attention
PodcastApple Podcasts

Your Undivided Attention

AI Slop is Destroying the Internet - Kurzgesagt
VideoYouTube

AI Slop is Destroying the Internet - Kurzgesagt

Live cameras are tracking faces in New Orleans. Who should control them?
ArticleNPR

Live cameras are tracking faces in New Orleans. Who should control them?

Stuart Russel on Diary of A CEO
VideoYouTube

Stuart Russel on Diary of A CEO

More Perfect Union, AI Psychosis
VideoYouTube

More Perfect Union, AI Psychosis

Tristan Harris on Diary of a CEO
VideoYouTube

Tristan Harris on Diary of a CEO

The AI Dilemma — with Tristan Harris
VideoYouTube

The AI Dilemma — with Tristan Harris

"Hey Grok, is this real?"
ArticleFuturism

"Hey Grok, is this real?"

China isn't racing the US toward the same future
ArticleCenter for Humane Technology

China isn't racing the US toward the same future

Teens Report Romantic Relationships With AI Chatbots
ArticleeWeek

Teens Report Romantic Relationships With AI Chatbots

Washington Post Launches error-filled AI Podcast as "News"
ArticleFuturism

Washington Post Launches error-filled AI Podcast as "News"

You're not rushing, you're just ready
ArticleCNN

You're not rushing, you're just ready

Grok Is Generating Sexual Content Far More Graphic Than What's on X
ArticleWIRED

Grok Is Generating Sexual Content Far More Graphic Than What's on X

The Adolescence of Technology
ArticleDario Amodei

The Adolescence of Technology

Beyond The Hype: OpenClaws' Real Risks
ArticleSecurityScorecard

Beyond The Hype: OpenClaws' Real Risks