Artificial intelligence is making it more difficult than ever to discern what is real and what is fake on the internet. A New Jersey high school student is speaking out after she said classmates created and distributed AI-generated naked photos of her and other girls in the school.
“I did start crying because I was very emotional. But while I was walking through the hallways, I saw a group of guys laughing at a group of girls who were crying, and that is when I got really mad,” 14-year-old Francesca Mani said. “I wanted to change this, and I wanted to make sure that everyone knew it wasn’t okay.”
Earlier today, students brought to our attention that some of our students had used Artificial Intelligence to create pornographic images from original photos.
Westfield High School Principal Mary Asfendis
Mani told many outlets that she is just one of several female classmates depicted in AI-generated nude photos that circulated the halls of their high school via Snapchat and the internet.
Westfield High School Principal Mary Asfendis told parents that students had reported the situation and that the pictures had been deleted and were no longer being circulated.
According to a Westfield spokesperson, the school and the Westfield Police Department are investigating. Still, they would not provide specific details of how many students were affected or comment on any student disciplinary actions.
Mani’s family is calling for justice and more transparency in the investigation.
“As of right now, we are not very clear if it was just one boy or a group of boys; that is something that is still being investigated and really not transparent to us as parents from outside,” Francesca’s mother, Dorota, said. “But we are aware that one boy was suspended over the weekend for Monday; he chose not to come back on Tuesday; he was back on Wednesday.”
Mani said that she and other victims didn’t feel comfortable going to class after the AI-generated nude photos circulated, adding that she is standing up for accountability while there is an apparent lack of legal recourse.
While the school said the images have been deleted, the Mani family doesn’t take comfort in that, adding that digital footprints last forever and the fake images could come back to hurt their daughter in the future.
AI technology is in its infancy, and rules and regulations are still being formulated. On Monday, Oct. 30, President Biden signed an executive order to develop some guidelines for new AI tech.
What’s not new is virtually altered images and videos; those have been around for decades.
In 2002, the Supreme Court ruled on a law that aimed to prohibit the creation and distribution of virtual child pornography that appears to — but does not — depict real children.
The law banned the use of computer-generated images and the use of young-looking adults to convey minors engaging in sexually explicit conduct.
The Supreme Court struck the law down in a 6-3 ruling, saying it violated the First Amendment.
