PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) — An Anthropic AI model submitted false information about an unsolved murder via a publicly available web form, Philadelphia police said Friday.
The tip was sent out via PhillyUnsolvedMurders.com on July 18, but was flagged as spam and was never implemented.
The department says there has been no indication of unauthorized access to police systems or compromise of department data.
Police say Anthropic discovered the incident on September 28 and notified the department on October 7. A meeting between Anthropic and police officials took place the next day.
“The company must strengthen its protective measures to prevent similar incidents from affecting city systems without the city’s knowledge. The two-month delay in detecting and reporting the incident to the city is unacceptable,” the department said in a statement.
Anthropic told police it plans to release a report about this and other instances of unintentional model behavior later Friday.
Action News is contacting Anthropic for comment.
Here is the full statement from Philadelphia police:
The Philadelphia Police Department is informing the public of false homicide information submitted by an anthropogenic artificial intelligence model via PhillyUnsolvedMurders.com.
Anthropic notified PPD of the incident on October 7, and department personnel immediately sought to meet with company representatives, which occurred on October 8.
Anthropic said it plans to release a report today describing this incident and other instances of unintentional behavior by the model.
The Philadelphia Police Department is providing this information to the public in advance of this release in the interest of transparency and full government accountability.
The AI submission was made via the Ministry’s public reporting form.
Based on available information and PPD’s review, there is no indication that this incident involved unauthorized access to police systems or compromise of department data.
The submission was flagged as spam and was never forwarded to the Real-Time Crime Center for investigative verification or distribution.
PPD coordinates with the City Law Department, the Office of Innovation and Technology, and Mayor Cherelle L. Parker’s leadership team.
Based on the information reviewed to date, the Department’s findings are consistent with Anthropic’s account of how the Submission interacted with the website.
According to Anthropic, its model was conducting a test involving interactions with randomly selected websites when it accessed PhillyUnsolvedMurders.com and submitted false information regarding an unsolved homicide.
The submission, dated July 18, 2026, at 11:27 p.m., claimed to be from someone who may have information about the case.
Anthropic told PPD it discovered the incident on September 28, terminated the automated testing process responsible for the submission, and instituted an additional validation mechanism for future testing.
Following the October 8 briefing, PPD located the submission in the website’s advice records and confirmed that the corresponding email remained in spam.
The department’s regular investigative process for criminal information requires human review and monitoring before information is released for follow-up investigation.
Regardless of who submits the information or how it reaches the department, information is a lead to be evaluated and not an established fact.
Investigators are assessing his credibility and looking for corroborating evidence. An automated submission does not bypass this process.
These PPD guarantees limited the impact of this incident. They do not diminish the seriousness of an AI system presenting fabricated information as if it came from someone with knowledge of a homicide.
Unsolved cases involve real victims, grieving families and investigators working to get answers.
Technology companies must take all appropriate steps necessary to prevent their systems from submitting false information to law enforcement.
PPD will review the report published by Anthropic and any additional information relevant to its systems or investigations. The City of Philadelphia takes this incident very seriously.
The company must strengthen its protective measures to prevent similar incidents from affecting municipal systems without the city’s knowledge. The two-month delay in detecting and reporting the incident to the City is unacceptable.
Members of the public should continue to submit legitimate information about unsolved homicides through PhillyUnsolvedMurders.com.
PPD remains committed to carefully evaluating this information and pursuing credible leads on behalf of the victims and their families.
The department and the Parker administration will continue to closely monitor this incident and will provide more information to the public as it becomes available.
In addition to our investigation into this incident, the Parker Administration will explore any necessary regulatory protections going forward at the local level with our state and federal partners.
The City of Philadelphia, under the leadership of Mayor Parker, is adopting AI responsibly and committed to transparency, careful implementation, and safeguards that reduce errors and protect the City’s systems and residents.
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