High School In Los Angeles Becomes Latest To Grapple With AI Illicit Photos

LOS ANGELES, CA — In what may be the latest case of artificial intelligence misuse on school campus, inappropriate images circulating among students at Fairfax High School are being investigated by authorities in Los Angeles

Los Angeles Unified School District officials confirmed the investigation to the Los Angeles Times. It comes on the heels of several other cases in which Southland students were suspected of using AI to create nude or illicit images of classmates.

“These allegations are taken seriously, do not reflect the values of the Los Angeles Unified community and will result in appropriate disciplinary action if warranted,” the district said in the statement. "The images were allegedly created and shared on a third-party messaging app unaffiliated with Los Angeles Unified.”

It was unclear if the images were created through the use of artificial intelligence, but the statement said the district "remains steadfast in providing training on the ethical use of technology -- including AI -- and is committed to enhancing education around digital citizenship, privacy and safety for all in our school communities."

The technology to create deepfakes is widely available and yet new enough that few laws exist to address the creation of illicit images involving real people, frequently young girls. Laws that prohibit the dissemination of nude photos of children may not necessarily apply to AI-generated images. This year, such images have reportedly circulated among middle and high school students in Beverly Hills, Calabasas, and Laguna Beach.

“This phenomenon has come on very suddenly and may be catching a lot of school districts unprepared and unsure what to do,” Riana Pfefferkorn, a research scholar at the Stanford Internet Observatory, who writes about legal issues related to computer-generated child sexual abuse imagery, told The New York Times.

In cases across the country, mainly female students from elementary to high school have been victimized by nude deep fakes, a form of bullying and sexual harassment that laws and school district policies may not yet adequately address.

Local school districts grappling with inappropriate deepfakes have handled the incidents in different ways.

Last month, five Beverly Hills eighth graders were expelled due to their involvement in the creation and dissemination of AI-generated nude photos in an incident where administrators identified 16 victims, all of whom were in 8th grade, administrators said.

Michael Bregy, superintendent of the Beverly Hills Unified School District, told The New York Times he and other school leaders wanted to set a national precedent that schools must not tolerate students sending sexually explicit images of their peers.

“That’s extreme bullying when it comes to schools,” Dr. Bregy told the Times, calling the images “disturbing and violative” to girls and their families. “It’s something we will absolutely not tolerate here.”

Officials at Laguna Beach High School this month are holding panel discussions covering online privacy, legal and ethical considerations of sharing content, the impact of online behavior on future opportunities and relationships and managing digital footprints.

According to Principal Jason Alleman, the Laguna Beach Police Department is assisting the school district in an investigation of inappropriate or nude photos of students created with artificial intelligence and distributed around the campus.

"In any situation that arises, the safety and security of our students is always our top priority," the Laguna Beach Unified School District said in a written statement "Simultaneously, it falls within our role as educators to guide students toward understanding the consequences of their actions, particularly in terms of their impact on peers and the wider campus community. High school is a pivotal time for shaping students, offering us the opportunity to nurture them into empathetic individuals who are mindful of the world around them. Maintaining a careful balance between accountability and empathy is essential as we navigate and address critical issues."

City News Service and Patch Staffers Chris Lindahl and Miranda Ceja contributed to this report.