Stanford admits breaking own policy after race-, gender-swapped student photos emerge

Stanford University has admitted that a promotional photo for its residential and dining program was digitally altered in violation of its own artificial intelligence policy, after the Stanford Review published a side-by-side comparison of the original and edited versions. The original showed three students; the edited version removed one of them, Billy Ramirez, entirely, while narrowing the faces of the other two students who remained, according to Fox News.

Ramirez told the Stanford Review he initially thought it was funny that the AI had changed his race and gender before deciding he was upset, saying he felt "silenced and erased" from an image meant to include him. A university spokesperson told Fox News Digital by email that the alteration and the failure to disclose it both broke Stanford's rule against using AI to change images of Stanford people, events, research, facilities or achievements, and said the school would take steps involving Residential and Dining Enterprises to prevent a repeat. The Stanford Review argued the incident shows universities should drop not just diversity, equity and inclusion programs but also their focus on how diverse things look.

The disclosure comes as Stanford is already contending with federal attention over accusations that its admissions practices and a teacher-certification support program improperly factor in race.

Summarized by PolitiKool from Fox News’s reporting. Read the full story at Fox News →