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Spokane city departments faced public scrutiny after the police department accidentally released a fabricated AI-generated photo of a rescued dog and the parks department distributed a promotional flyer that plagiarized a local artist's work using generative AI.
Detectives in Spokane, Washington, reportedly created a purported AI-generated image as a joke depicting a real undercover officer holding an injured dachshund. A supervisor reportedly mistook it for an authentic photograph and the image was released to news media after correcting an earlier claim that the dog had died. The Spokesman-Review published a cropped version before the department disclosed that the scene was fabricated and began reviewing its verification procedures.
Domain classification, causal taxonomy, severity scores, and national security assessments were LLM-classified and may contain errors.
AI systems capable of creating economic or cultural value, including through reproduction of human innovation or creativity (e.g., art, music, writing, coding, invention), destabilizing economic and social systems that rely on human effort. The ubiquity of AI-generated content may lead to reduced appreciation for human skills, disruption of creative and knowledge-based industries, and homogenization of cultural experiences.
Also classified as
The Spokane Police Department unintentionally released a fabricated, AI-generated image of an officer and a rescued dog to the public and media.
The Spokane Parks Department used generative AI to create a flyer that plagiarized a local artist's distinct style and commercial sticker design, devaluing his professional livelihood.
Human
Due to a decision or action made by humans
Unintentional
Due to an unexpected outcome from pursuing a goal
Post-deployment
Occurring after the AI model has been trained and deployed
The incidents were caused by human errors, specifically city employees generating and distributing AI content without proper verification, disclosure, or adherence to city policies.
Two localized incidents of generative AI misuse by Spokane municipal employees resulted in minor public relations embarrassment and copyright plagiarism. Due to the local, non-malicious, and administrative nature of these events, they pose negligible national security implications across all assessed categories.
The AI systems functioned as tools, performing the specific function of generating images based on direct user prompts without independent planning or autonomous decision-making.
Limited Risk: The systems used were generative AI image creators. Under the EU AI Act, these pose limited risk but require transparency obligations, such as notifying users that the content is AI-generated, which the city's policy failed to enforce in these instances.
The AI systems were used to generate images: a fabricated photo of a dog and a promotional flyer imitating a retro art style.
The report provides clear, detailed accounts of both incidents, including the perspectives of the city officials, the police department, and the affected artist. The roles of the AI systems are explicitly stated, and there are no conflicting accounts of the events.
The police incident could be interpreted primarily as a misinformation risk (3.1), while the clocktower incident is primarily an intellectual property/devaluation risk (6.3).
Technology
High Competence in Mimicking Reality
Generative AI creates highly realistic images that mimic real photos.
Model Scouring and Replication
AI models scour the internet and replicate artists' styles without consent.
Data Inputs
Training on Copyrighted Art
AI models are trained on copyrighted works without the artists' permission.
Lack of Consent in Training Data
Creators did not sign up or agree to have their work used for AI training.
Human Factors
Blind Trust in Shared Media
Staff trusted the source of the image without verifying its authenticity.
Failure to Disclose AI Usage
An employee created a flyer using AI but did not disclose its computer origin.
Creation of Joke Images by Staff
Detectives created a fake image as a joke, which was then mistaken for real.
Process and Methods
Lack of Image Verification Process
No verification or check-and-balance procedures were in place before sharing.
Inadequate Internal Review
Internal review failed to spot obvious visual anomalies in the generated image.
Failure to Disclose AI Content
The city policy requiring disclosure of AI-generated content was bypassed.
Management
Inadequate AI Policy Enforcement
Management failed to enforce the existing disclosure policy for AI content.
Lack of Employee AI Training
Employees lacked training on ethical AI use and how to identify AI images.
Regulatory Environment
Inadequate Intellectual Property Laws
Current copyright laws struggle to protect artists from AI scraping.
Lack of AI Standards
Absence of external standards for identifying and labeling AI-generated media.
