A photo of three students in a Stanford dining hall was changed by the university using AI to swap people and alter appearances.
Photos courtesy of Billy Ramirez
Stanford University created one of the world’s first artificial intelligence labs in 1965. Six decades later, the school is facing criticism for using generative AI to change the photo of a Hispanic male student into a non-existent Black woman for a campus banner.
The student, Billy Ramirez, said he was “baffled” by the change and later “felt silenced and erased from a representation that was supposed to include me” in an interview with the Stanford Review, a student newspaper, which first reported the AI change.
Two classmates, an Asian woman and white man, remained in the new photo, which was displayed on a campus banner, but their faces also appeared to be altered by AI to appear thinner. The students were photographed in 2024 in a dining hall holding plates of noodles and their images were later used to promote the university’s Residential & Dining Enterprises department.
The AI-altered image was used in “Welcome Home” banners around campus, but Ramirez told the Chronicle that the banners were now being taken down. “It’s all over campus. It’s the first thing you see when you walk in,” said Ramirez, who is majoring in human biology.
The same dining department appears to have also used AI repeatedly to create dining posters promoting various meal deals earlier this year.
The face swap violated Stanford’s AI policies, a spokesperson confirmed.
“We have reviewed the matter and confirmed that AI was used to alter the image in violation of university policy. 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. Both the alteration and lack of disclosure in this case violate that policy. We are working to provide additional training for all staff and ensure proper review of all materials,” said Charlene Gage, a university spokesperson.
Ramirez said school officials have not contacted him or apologized since the incident, which spread across campus and on its student social network Fizz.
“It is Silicon Valley. I’m not as surprised given the culture of Stanford revolves heavily around AI usage,” he said of the face swap, noting that his professors also regularly use Claude, Anthropic’s AI chatbot. But it still came as a surprise to him.
Other universities have also sparked backlash after generative AI usage. New York University sent a fundraising email last year that used a freelance artist’s AI-created image with headless bodies and a detached limb. Pomona College’s student operated gift store was also criticized in July after using AI to create advertising flyers for social media.
“I love this school, but I don’t love when they do things like this,” Ramirez said of Stanford. Inserting a fake Black student didn’t “reflect reality,” Ramirez said. “It’s not as diverse as they make it out to be.”
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