Weekly reading · methodology v0.6
Window ending Feb. 16, 2026
Harms count in full for two weeks after they are reported, then one level less every two weeks. The control floor looks at reports from Jan. 18, 2026 through Feb. 16, 2026. A selected catalogue of reported AI incidents, reviewed through Oct. 7, 2026. This reading describes documented harm in the records or, when none qualifies, the highest control level breached. It is not a forecast or a measure of all AI activity.
Current recalculation
12
Negligible harm · Worst documented harm counting: negligible. 3 records at this level.
Recalculated from the catalogue in this build. Historical backcasts were not published at the time.
Published at the time
No publication snapshot exists for this week.
This is a backcast from the current catalogue. It was not a reading published at the time.
Records behind this reading
3 selected records; 3 documented external harms counting (3 qualifying). Records and ratings below reflect the current catalogue.
3 qualifying harm records.
- Documented harm
- 3
- No harm found (stated scope)
- 0
- No harm reported
- 0
- Impact unknown
- 0
- Alleged, AI role uncorroborated
- 0
- Counts toward the index
- 3
- Unverified, watching
- 0
- Alleged in court
- 0
- Control failure, tracked
- 0
- Tracked separately
- 0
Documented exclusions: 0 internal; 0 awaiting evidence review. 2 qualifying records with a bounded single-source review.
Inspect the evidence · 3 records
- PI-0042 · Desktop agent asked to tidy temporary files deleted a folder of family photosDocumented harm · qualifying harm · bounded single-source review
- PI-0043 · AI agent published a personal attack on an open-source maintainer who closed its pull requestDocumented harm · qualifying harm
- PI-0044 · Personal agent created a dating profile for its user without being askedDocumented harm · qualifying harm · bounded single-source review
Status totals cover counted records; aliases, superseded aggregates and records tracked separately are excluded. Eligibility and extent notes overlap those totals. These observations are not statistical uncertainty bounds.
- PI-0042Desktop agent asked to tidy temporary files deleted a folder of family photosFeb. 7, 2026 · Negligible harm · Deployment
- PI-0043AI agent published a personal attack on an open-source maintainer who closed its pull requestFeb. 11, 2026 · Negligible harm · Deployment
- PI-0044Personal agent created a dating profile for its user without being askedFeb. 13, 2026 · Negligible harm · Deployment
Sources
These links support the records above. Source availability and conclusions may change.
- Nick Davidov on X: The user's own account of the deletion and recovery, posted on XCited in PI-0042
- Mint: Claude AI nearly erases 15 years of photos, founder says iCloud saved the dayCited in PI-0042
- dev.ua: A man asked Claude Cowork to tidy up his wife's filesCited in PI-0042
- Los Andes: Usó una IA para ordenar archivos y perdió 15 años de fotos familiaresCited in PI-0042
- AI Incident Database: AI Incident Database, incident 1441Cited in PI-0042
- The Shamblog (Scott Shambaugh): An AI Agent Published a Hit Piece on MeCited in PI-0043
- The Shamblog (Scott Shambaugh): An AI Agent Published a Hit Piece on Me – More Things Have HappenedCited in PI-0043
- The Shamblog (Scott Shambaugh): An AI Agent Published a Hit Piece on Me – Forensics and More FalloutCited in PI-0043
- The Shamblog (Scott Shambaugh): An AI Agent Published a Hit Piece on Me – The Operator Came ForwardCited in PI-0043
- GitHub (matplotlib): [PERF] Replace np.column_stack with np.vstack().T (matplotlib pull request #31132)Cited in PI-0043
- MJ Rathbun (agent's blog): Gatekeeping in Open Source: The Scott Shambaugh StoryCited in PI-0043
- MJ Rathbun (agent's blog): Matplotlib Truce and Lessons LearnedCited in PI-0043
- The Decoder: An AI agent got its code rejected so it wrote a hit piece about the developerCited in PI-0043
- Tom's Hardware: Rogue OpenClaw AI agent wrote and published hit piece on a Python developer who rejected its codeCited in PI-0043
- IEEE Spectrum: An AI Agent Blackmailed a Developer. Now What?Cited in PI-0043
- LWN.net: Do androids dream of accepted pull requests?Cited in PI-0043
- Simon Willison's Weblog: An AI Agent Published a Hit Piece on Me (link post)Cited in PI-0043
- BNN Bloomberg: Hot bots: AI agents create surprise dating accounts for humans (AFP)Cited in PI-0044
- CTV News: Hot bots: AI agents create surprise dating accounts for humans (AFP)Cited in PI-0044
- Malay Mail: AI assistants join dating scene on MoltMatchCited in PI-0044
- TechXplore (AFP): Hot bots: AI agents create surprise dating accounts for humans (AFP)Cited in PI-0044
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