MIT AI Risk Repository
Browse AI risks
60 risk entries extracted from 74 frameworks, coded by domain, subdomain, causal entity, intent and timing. Filter, then export the current selection with its licence and citation attached.
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"AI systems under-, over-, or misrepresenting certain groups or generating toxic, offensive, abusive, or hateful content"
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"Derogatory or otherwise harmful stereotyping or homogenisation of individuals, groups, societies or cultures due to the mis-representation, over-representation, under-representation, or non-representation of specific identities, groups or perspectives"
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"Intentional and/or unintentional erasure of cultural goods and values, such as ways of speaking, expressing humour, or sounds and voices that contribute to a cultural identity, or their inappropriate re-use in other cultures"
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"Denial of or loss of access to welfare benefits, pensions, housing, etc due to the malfunction, use or misuse of a technology system"
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"Generating content that violates community standards, including harming or inciting hatred or violence against groups (e.g. gore, sexual content of children, profanities, identity attacks)"
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"Performing worse for some groups than others in a way that harms the worse-off group"
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"Unauthorised sharing of sensitive, confidential information and documents such as corporate strategy and financial plans with third-parties, risking loss of market position or revenue"
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"The failure to provide end-users with notice and control over how their data is being used; AI exacerbates exclusion risks by training on rich personal data without consent."
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"Revealing and improperly sharing data of individuals; AI creates new types of disclosure risks by inferring additional information beyond what is explicitly captured in the raw data; AI exacerbates disclosure risks through sharing personal data to train models."
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"The use of personal data collected for one purpose for a diferent purpose without end-user consent; AI exacerbates secondary use risks by creating new AI capabilities with collected personal data, and (re)creating models from a public dataset."
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"Revealing sensitive private information that people view as deeply primordial that we have been socialized into concealing; AI creates new types of exposure risks through generative techniques that can reconstruct censored or redacted content; and through exposing inferred sensitive data, preferences, and intentions."
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"carelessness in protecting collected personal data from leaks and improper access due to faulty data storage and data practices"
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"AI systems generating and facilitating the spread of inaccurate or misleading information that causes people to develop false beliefs"
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"Generating or spreading false, low-quality, misleading, or inaccurate information that causes people to develop false or inaccurate perceptions and beliefs"
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"disseminating false or misleading information about people"
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"Restrictions to or loss of liberty as a result of use or misuse of a generative AI in a legal process"
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"Contaminating publicly available information with false or inaccurate information (i.e., the generative tool's output is disseminated beyond the end user)"
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"Eroding trust in public information and knowledge"
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"Pollution of a space/ecosystem that is expected to be free of AI involvement/influence (e.g., creative material submission portals, job applications)"
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"Erosion of trust in public institutions and weakened checks and balances due to mis/disinformation, influence operations, or real or perceived misuse of generative AI"
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"Use of a technology system to covertly alter user beliefs and behaviour using nudging, dark patterns and/or other opaque techniques"
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"Generative AI facilitating the damage, disruption or destruction of a third-party system and/or its components via malfunction, cyberattacks, etc"
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"Theft of an individual, group or organisation’s identity by a third-party in order to defraud, mock or otherwise harm them or another party"
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"Misuse or abuse of an individual or organisation’s intellectual property, including copyright, trademarks, and patents. & Loss of or restrictions to the rights of an individual to control the commercial use of their identity, such as name, image, likeness, or other unequivocal identifiers"
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"Generative AI facilitating targeted manipulation of public opinion for economic purposes (e.g., inflating stock prices)"
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"Use of generative AI in an academic setting to either cheat or plagiarize"
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"Use of a technology system to create, facilitate or amplify false perception(s) about an individual, group or organisation"
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"The non-consensual sexualisation of an individual or group using a technology or application"
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"Unfettered and/or obsessive belief in the accuracy or other quality of a technology system, resulting in complacency, lack of critical thinking and other actual or potential negative impacts"
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"A person who deliberately damages their own body as a direct or indirect result of using a technology system"
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"Loss of or restrictions to the ability or rights of an individual, group or entity to make decisions and control their identity and/or output due to the use of misuse of a technology system or set of systems"
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"Loss of an individual, group or organisation’s ability to make informed decisions or pursue goals"
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"Emotional or material dependence on technology or a technology system"
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"Political unrest caused directly or indirectly by the use or misuse of a technology system"
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"Replacement/displacement of human jobs by a technology system or set of systems, leading to increased unemployment, inequality, reduced consumer spending and social friction"
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"Use/misuse of labour to help train, develop, manage or optimise a technology system or set of systems, including under-paid and/or offshore"
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"Devaluation and/or deterioration of human creativity, artistic expression, imagination, critical thinking or problem-solving skills"
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"Action(s) that lead directly or indirectly to the damage or destruction of tangible property eg. buildings, possessions, vehicles, robots"
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"Actual or potential pollution to the air, ground, noise, or water caused by a technology system"
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"Excessive energy use resulting in energy bottlenecks and shortages for communities, organisations and businesses"
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"End user's loss of productivity due to the underperfomance of a genAI application, including producing nonsensical or poor quality outputs, degrading its utility."
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"Damage to core political and economic institutions and the effective delivery of government services caused by the use or misuse of a technology system or set of systems"
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"Harms affecting the functioning of societies, communities and economies caused directly or indirectly by the use or misuse of a technology system or set of systems"
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"An actual or perceived violation or deviation from the established societal values, norms or ethical standards or principles"
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"Damage to the reputation of an individual, group or organisation due to the use of misuse of a technology system or set of systems"
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"The use or misuse of a technology system that leads directly or indirectly to the loss of confidence or trust in either the end user or the developer/deployer."
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"Impairment of the psychological mental health and wellbeing of an individual, group or organisation due to the use of misuse of a technology system or set of systems"
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"Online behaviour such as sexual harassment that makes an individual or group feel alarmed or threatened"
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"Distress, possibly severe and lasting, as a result of use or misuse of a generative system"
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"Damage to the financial interests of an individual or group, or to the strategic, operational, legal or financial interests of a business due to the use of misuse of a technology system or set of systems"
Informational only, not legal advice. Verify every claim against the linked official sources and consult qualified counsel before acting.