Beverly Hills Unified School District officials Monday were investigating the discovery of fake nude photos of students at a middle school that were apparently generated using artificial intelligence.
The photos were first detected by officials at Beverly Vista Middle School, 200 S. Elm Drive, last week, according to a message sent by district and school administrators to parents and staff. According to the message, administrators were informed by students about “the creation and dissemination by other students of artificial intelligence generated (AI) images that superimposed the faces of our students onto AI-generated nude bodies.”
“As the investigation is progressing today, more victims are being identified,” according to the district’s message. “We are taking every measure to support those affected and to prevent any further incidents. We want to make it unequivocally clear that this behavior is unacceptable and does not reflect the values of our school community. Although we are aware of similar situations occurring all over the nation, we must act now. This behavior rises to a level that requires the entire community to work in partnership to ensure it stops immediately.”
It was unclear how many photos were discovered and how many students were affected. It was also unclear how the photos were circulated.
District officials urged parents to speak to their children “about this dangerous behavior” and encouraged students to “talk to your friends about how disturbing and inappropriate this manipulation of images is.”
“Collectively, we are nothing short of outraged by this behavior and we are prepared to implement the most severe disciplinary actions allowable under California Education Code,” according to the message. “Any student found to be creating, disseminating, or in possession of AI-generated images of this nature will face disciplinary actions, including, but not limited to, a recommendation for expulsion.”
