Deep fake nude photos in schools are latest AI issue
Stevie Hyder felt nauseous.
Standing in the hallway at her Illinois high school a few weeks ago, the 15year-old found out one of her sophomore classmates was using artificial intelligence, or AI, to create nude photos of her. Dozens of doctored images of her and other teenage girls were floating around, a friend told her. Some depicted teachers.
By the time the principal called her mom, Hyder was the 22nd girl on his list.
“Initially, it was very upsetting,” said Stephanie Essex, her mom. “It didn’t take very long, though, before we both got very angry about the situation.”
That anger is quickly becoming a sentiment shared by many parents, particularly those of young girls, after a spate of similar incidents across the country. As AI gains a stronger foothold in the American economy and culture, administrators are watching it creep into schools.
Policing the nascent technology isn’t easy, as Hyder’s principal, Mike Baird, wrote in a message to parents.
“As we reflect on recent events, it has become clear that we are facing new challenges in the realm of technology and social media,” he wrote in a March 15 letter. “There is no playbook for much of what we are encountering.”
As cases crop up, principals and parents are being forced to navigate a patchwork of district policies and state laws, some of which are stricter than others.
“If we take preventative steps for everybody, we will put ourselves in a much better position than trying to play whack-a-mole,” said Kate Ruane, a free speech attorney at the Center for Democracy and Technology.
In December, two middle school boys at a charter school in Miami were arrested on suspicion of using an AI app to create nude photos of their classmates, who were under 14, according to an arrest warrant.
Officials charged the boys with thirddegree felonies, citing a state law that forbids the “unauthorized promotion of a sexually explicit image.” A number of states, including Texas and Virginia, have so-called “deepfake laws,” which criminalize the nonconsensual creation of pornography using an image of another person. Even more state legislatures are mulling putting such rules on the books.
Florida’s statute is particularly harsh, according to Mary Anne Franks, a professor at George Washington University Law School and an expert on revenge porn laws. In her view, the Miami case is an example of overcharging.
“That’s extraordinarily young to be charging someone with a felony,” she said.
The Florida Charter School Alliance, a group that represents the boys’ school, Pinecrest Cove Preparatory Academy, declined to comment. The boys’ parents did not respond to requests for comment.
In February, five eighth-graders at Beverly Vista Middle School were involved in using AI to superimpose the faces of 16 other eighth-graders onto nude bodies, according a statement from the school district.
On March 6, the Beverly Hills Unified School District board approved stipulations to expel the kids, the Los Angeles Times reported.