Stanford admits using AI to race swap white male student for black female in ad: ‘Erased’

Stanford University has admitted it violated its own artificial-intelligence rules by using AI to alter a promotional image that transformed a male student into a Black woman — and acknowledged that the university failed to disclose the manipulation.

The admission comes days after the student-run the Stanford Review published side-by-side images showing the original photograph and the AI-altered version. 

Stanford said it has now reviewed the incident and confirmed that the image was altered with AI in violation of university policy.

“We have reviewed the matter and confirmed that AI was used to alter the image in violation of university policy,” a Stanford spokesperson said in statement.

“Stanford’s AI policy is clear: The use of AI in producing or altering images of Stanford people, events, research, facilities, or achievements is strictly prohibited,” the spokesperson added.

“Both the alteration and lack of disclosure in this case violate that policy. We are working with Residential and Dining Enterprises to provide additional training and ensure proper review of all materials.”

The university said it has opened an investigation to learn more about the incident and “put in place protocols to prevent it from happening again.”

“Not only the fact that the image was altered, but the ways in which it was altered, reflect a serious error in judgment,” a Stanford spokesperson told The Post. “We have apologized to the students in the photo whose images were altered or erased. Quite simply, this was wrong and should never have happened.”

Stanford’s own published guidelines say AI-generated or AI-manipulated content must be clearly identified when failing to do so could mislead audiences.

The university also says its communications staff should not create or publish AI-generated material that falsely depicts Stanford people, events, research, facilities or achievements. 

The controversy began after Stanford Residential & Dining Enterprises, which oversees campus housing and dining operations, used an altered version of a photograph featuring three students.

In the original image, Stanford junior Billy Ramirez was pictured alongside two other students holding plates of food outside a dining location.

But in the promotional version, Ramirez was removed and replaced by an AI-generated Black woman. The other two students also appeared to have been digitally altered, including noticeably slimmer faces. 

Ramirez previously told The Stanford Review that he was shocked when a friend sent him the comparison while he was traveling to campus.

“I was driving to school from my hometown when my friend sent me the images comparing the banner to the original photos, and I was immediately baffled,” Ramirez said.

“At first, I found it hilarious that they had used AI to completely change our appearances, including my race and gender. But after looking at the comparison, I was also upset because I don’t agree with Stanford making those choices about how we were represented,” he added.

“Seeing my identity changed and being left out of the picture made me feel, in a way, silenced and erased from a representation that was supposed to include me.”

The school has said it is working with Residential and Dining Enterprises on additional training and review procedures following the incident.

 “We are working with Residential and Dining Enterprises to provide additional training and ensure proper review of all materials,” they added.

Stanford has not publicly explained who made the alteration, what AI tool was used or why the original photograph was changed.

The original Stanford Dining image has also reportedly been removed from the department’s Instagram account.

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