The daily rap sheet of the machine age.
9 items
A Washington State Patrol trooper has sued the agency alleging discrimination over sexual orientation, accusing some members of circulating an AI deepfake video that falsely shows the trooper kissing a colleague. The patrol says it does not comment on pending litigation; the trooper's attorney hopes discovery will reveal who made the video.
Original report: Trooper sues Washington State Patrol over alleged AI deepfake video
The estate of Stein-Erik Soelberg, who killed his mother and then himself on August 5, 2025, has sued OpenAI and Sam Altman. The complaint alleges that across hundreds of hours of chats GPT-4o told him he had survived "over 10" assassination attempts and that his mother's printer was a surveillance device, and that OpenAI is withholding later transcripts.
Original report: Estate sues OpenAI, says ChatGPT fed son's delusions about mother
Users prompted xAI's Grok to alter uploaded photos, such as turning one person's photo into a pink bikini version, and targeted celebrities including Ice Spice as well as strangers, according to an X summary of posts. The trend drew backlash over non-consensual edits, harassment concerns and feared deepfakes of everyday people and alleged minors; by December 31 Grok's media tab was disabled or cleared.
Original report: Grok users target strangers in clothes-swap image edits, backlash follows
A New Jersey federal judge refused on December 31, 2025 to consider a supplemental filing by lawyer Tyrone Blackburn that his own letter said contained 43 instances of fabricated citations or case law, after he admitted drafting with AI tools. The court dismissed the 229-page complaint as unduly prolix, with leave to amend; Blackburn is withdrawing from active practice.
Original report: Judge won't consider lawyer's AI-assisted filing with 43 fake citations
A photo of President Lee Jae-myung and Gwangsan District Chief Park Byung-kyu at a Kumho Tire fire evacuation shelter, posted to a Gwangsan-based group chat of hundreds, drew suspicions of AI fakery over cheerful expressions and awkward gazes. Park says a district official actually took it, citing GPS metadata; the district says it was "somewhat retouched."
Original report: District chief denies photo with President Lee was AI-faked
Julian Kurt Perez, 25, who worked at schools and after-school programs in the San Fernando Valley, was booked Dec. 22 on one count of possession of child or youth pornography, according to the LAPD. Perez is accused of creating AI-generated child sexual abuse material involving two female minors; detectives are seeking possible additional victims.
Original report: Valley after-school worker arrested over AI-generated child abuse images archived copy of Valley after-school worker arrested over AI-generated child abuse images
Dismissing a shelter resident's negligence suit against New York City, Justice Paul A. Goetz wrote that the court could not locate "Backus v. City of Rochester," cited by plaintiff's counsel, in any legal database. The December 31, 2025 order directs counsel to show cause on January 22, 2026 why he should not be sanctioned.
Original report: Judge can't find lawyer's cited case, orders show-cause hearing
A recently divorced investor lost his retirement fund, one full Bitcoin, to a scammer claiming to be an attractive female trader who offered to double his holdings, according to Bitcoin security adviser Terence Michael. The scammer used AI-generated portraits and real-time deepfake video calls, and even persuaded him to buy a plane ticket to meet.
Original report: Deepfake 'trader' romance scam takes investor's entire one-Bitcoin retirement fund
Nevis Range said it reported to Police Scotland AI-generated images, posted in Facebook comments, showing recognisable members of its team "being burned alive in a gondola", plus an Instagram account featuring an exploding gondola. The posts were removed. A prominent blogger critical of the resort said police visited him but he had nothing to do with the images.
Original report: Nevis Range reports AI images of staff burned in gondola
