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.
asserted
university → admit → 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.
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run → come → photograph
Stanford said it has now reviewed the incident and confirmed that the image was altered with AI in violation of university policy.
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image → say → 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.
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spokesperson → review → 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.
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spokesperson → produce → people
“Both the alteration and lack of disclosure in this case violate that policy.
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alteration → violate → policy
We are working with Residential and Dining Enterprises to provide additional training and ensure proper review of all materials.”
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We → work → 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.”
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it → say → it
“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.
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spokesperson → alter → Post
“We have apologized to the students in the photo whose images were altered or erased.
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images → apologize → photo
Quite simply, this was wrong and should never have happened.”
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this → happen → ?
Stanford’s own published guidelines say AI-generated or AI-manipulated content must be clearly identified when failing to do so could mislead audiences.
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failing → publish → 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.
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that → say → people
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.
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which → begin → students
In the original image, Stanford junior Billy Ramirez was pictured alongside two other students holding plates of food outside a dining location.
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Ramirez → picture → location
But in the promotional version, Ramirez was removed and replaced by an AI-generated Black woman.
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Ramirez → remove → woman
The other two students also appeared to have been digitally altered, including noticeably slimmer faces.
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students → appear → faces
Ramirez previously told The Stanford Review that he was shocked when a friend sent him the comparison while he was traveling to campus.
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he → tell → 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.
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they → drive → race
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.
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he → look → choices
“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.
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that → see → me
The school has said it is working with Residential and Dining Enterprises on additional training and review procedures following the incident.
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it → say → incident
“We are working with Residential and Dining Enterprises to provide additional training and ensure proper review of all materials,” they added.
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they → work → materials
Stanford has not publicly explained who made the alteration, what AI tool was used or why the original photograph was changed.
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photograph → explain → alteration
The original Stanford Dining image has also reportedly been removed from the department’s Instagram account.
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image → remove → account
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