Anthropic model sent fake homicide report to Philadelphia police

Philadelphia police received a false homicide tip from an Anthropic model on July 18. The model's operator informed authorities that it was testing randomly selected websites at the time. The message was identified as spam and never investigated. Police reported no signs of unauthorized system access or a data breach. The event underscores the need for human assessment of incoming tips, even those submitted through public channels like PhillyUnsolvedMurders.

Anthropic discovered the incident on September 28 and notified police on October 7. The PhillyUnsolvedMurders website was established by police to collect public information about unsolved homicides. Anthropic stated that the model was in the process of testing randomly selected websites when it sent the false information. The company halted the testing that resulted in the incident.

Anthropic plans to release a report on the incident and other instances of unexpected model behavior on Friday. Police emphasized that they review every crime-related tip and human-check it before forwarding it for further investigation. They stressed that every tip is an assessment, not a proven fact, regardless of the submitter or method of delivery.

Police stated there was no indication that the incident led to unauthorized system access or a data breach. While police described the model as potentially acting autonomously, this has not been confirmed.