Reported AI-Aided Development of Explosive Devices by Long Island Resident Michael Gann

June 5, 2025

Michael Gann, a 55-year-old Long Island resident, is accused of utilizing AI technologies for the identification of chemicals and instructions related to improvised explosive devices (IEDs) manufacture. The authorities claim that he constructed seven bombs, transported them to Manhattan, and stored five on a rooftop with shotgun shells. It's alleged that Gann tested some devices in public areas before his arrest on June 5, 2025. He now faces federal charges; fortunately, no injuries were reported.

Promoting responsible AI practices and ensuring their governance is crucial for preventing such incidents. The HISPI Project Cerebellum TAIM (Trusted AI Model) serves as a platform to help map, measure, and manage such events to foster safe and secure AI development.

JOIN US

Matched TAIM controls

Suggested mapping from embedding similarity (not a formal assessment). Browse all TAIM controls

MAP 4.1 — similarity 0.628, rank 1. TAIM detail and related incidents →
MEASURE 2.6 — similarity 0.626, rank 2. TAIM detail and related incidents →
MAP 1.6 — similarity 0.621, rank 3. TAIM detail and related incidents →

Alleged deployer: michael-gann
Alleged developer: unknown-generative-ai-developer
Alleged harmed parties: general-public-of-new-york-city

Source

Data from the AI Incident Database (AIID). Cite this incident: https://incidentdatabase.ai/cite/1160

Data source

Incident data is from the AI Incident Database (AIID).

When citing the database as a whole, please use:

McGregor, S. (2021) Preventing Repeated Real World AI Failures by Cataloging Incidents: The AI Incident Database. In Proceedings of the Thirty-Third Annual Conference on Innovative Applications of Artificial Intelligence (IAAI-21). Virtual Conference.

Pre-print on arXiv · Database snapshots & citation guide

We use weekly snapshots of the AIID for stable reference. For the official suggested citation of a specific incident, use the “Cite this incident” link on each incident page.