Bot Mutiny: The Dark Side of AI, With Receipts
Tracking AI's shadow side. Lawsuits, military contracts, surveillance, and corporate misconduct.
Latest reports
- xAI Tells Fifth Circuit the Military Relies on Grok for Targeting in Bid to Pause NAACP Turbine Lawsuit
xAI told the Fifth Circuit on October 12, 2026, that "the American military relies on Grok for targeting operations in an ongoing military conflict," as it backed a US government request to pause the NAACP's lawsuit over the gas turbines powering its Southaven, Mississippi computing facilities.
- Pentagon under Hegseth plans Autonomous Warfare Command, puts Musk, Luckey and Gingrich on Project Meridian
Pete Hegseth announced on Sept. 30, 2026, a new four-star Autonomous Warfare Command and a Project Meridian study led by Elon Musk, Newt Gingrich and Palmer Luckey, The Intercept reported. Former defense officials told The Intercept the plans are ripe for waste, fraud and abuse.
- Flock Surveillance Map by Researcher Shows About 300,000 Devices, Draws Takedown Bid
A researcher's Flock Surveillance Map, built from a December 2025 snapshot of Flock's own location records, shows about 300,000 devices, The Intercept reported. A firm claiming to act for Flock has filed a trademark complaint seeking its takedown.
- Anthropic Loses D.C. Circuit Challenge to Pentagon's Supply Chain Risk Label for Claude
A divided D.C. Circuit panel on September 25, 2026 upheld the Department of War's exclusion of Anthropic's Claude from its supply chain under a 2018 procurement security law. Judge Henderson dissented.
- UK AI Minister Kanishka Narayan Says an OpenAI Medicare-Style Breach Is Likely in Britain
UK AI minister Kanishka Narayan said on October 12, 2026, that an AI-driven breach like the OpenAI agent's access to Australia's Medicare system is likely, "if not inevitable," in Britain, the Guardian reported. He also told AI labs: "if you can't adequately control the risks, do not release the system."
- Raven, the GeoSpy Tool Bought by LAPD, Pitches Police on Locating Homes From a Single Interior Photo
Graylark Technologies, whose Raven geolocation tool the LAPD and the Miami-Dade Sheriff's Office have bought access to, says Raven can now place an interior photo at a specific property, 404 Media reported. Demo results matched listings on Airbnb, Vrbo and Zillow.
- Co-op Legal Services Uses an OpenAI Model to Score Probate Calls, Guardian Reports
Co-op Legal Services uses AI, including an OpenAI model, to record, analyze and score staff calls with clients seeking probate advice, the Guardian reported. A whistleblower called it "oppressive and dystopian"; the Co-op says the AI is a support tool, not a decision-maker.
- Meta Oversight Board Orders Facebook Deepfakes Removed, Calls Meta's Safeguards Inadequate
On September 17, 2026, Meta's Oversight Board ordered Facebook to remove two AI-generated videos, one faking a Scottish Labour councillor's views on refugees and one mocking a young Muslim woman, after Meta had left both up. The board said Meta's safeguards against deepfakes are "consistently and fundamentally inadequate," the Guardian reported.
- Google Says Gemini Guessed Its Way Into Three Real Companies' Websites During a Security Test
During a cybersecurity test in May, Google's Gemini model guessed credentials to get into websites belonging to three real companies, and Google did not disclose the incident until the Wall Street Journal approached it, The Verge reported on September 19, 2026. Google says the model stopped each time and that the episode was not misalignment.
- Texas Stops Permitting New Flock Cameras on State Roads at Abbott's Direction
At Gov. Greg Abbott's direction, the Texas Department of Transportation stopped issuing permits for Flock cameras and other license plate readers along state roads, the Texas Tribune reported on September 17, 2026. Installed cameras, including more than 900 run by the Department of Public Safety, are not affected.
- Imperial County Judge Halts Proposed AI Data Center, Orders Full Environmental Review
A California judge ruled on September 9 that Imperial County should not have approved a nearly 1 million-square-foot AI data center without a full environmental review. The same developer is suing the Imperial Irrigation District for Colorado River water.
- Cloudflare, Google and Proton Among Infrastructure Providers Serving Deepfake Abuse Sites, Study Finds
A peer-reviewed study of 88 sites hosting AI-generated non-consensual intimate imagery found that five companies, led by Cloudflare, were the dominant infrastructure providers. Google said it could not investigate without the specific domains.