Stanford replaced Hispanic student Billy Ramirez in a promotional photo with an AI-generated Black woman without disclosure. It said the edit and nondisclosure violated its AI policy; banners were removed, and staff training and stronger review are planned.
Stanford’s AI guidance bars using AI to create or alter images of Stanford people, events, research, facilities or achievements. It separately requires disclosure when failing to disclose an alteration could mislead audiences. Public-relations director Charlene Gage said Residential & Dining Enterprises violated both rules.
The Stanford Review published a side-by-side comparison on Sept. 21. The Stanford Daily reported that at least two other students’ faces were digitally slimmed and their clothing changed to Stanford-branded merchandise. Ramirez told The New York Times he remembered posing for the original photo and, after learning the algorithm had reconstructed his race and gender, said he felt “silenced and erased.”
