The athletic director of a Maryland high school was arrested Thursday on suspicion of using artificial intelligence (AI) to paint the principal as a racist. He was arrested at the airport while checking regulations for flying with firearms.
Pikesville High School (PHS) Principal Eric Eiswart was fired and faced a barrage of harassment after an audio recording of him allegedly yelling profanities about blacks and Jews at the school went viral on social media in January, according to a Baltimore school. Banner reported. report.
The voice in the audio refers to “ungrateful black children who can’t even be let out of paper bags,” adding, “If I have to make one more complaint from another Jew in this community, I I’m going to participate,” he said. the other side. ”
The recording also names several faculty members who should be fired, including athletic director Dazone “DJ” Darien, and the voice threatens to “get these black people out of here one way or another.”
Although Mr. Eiswart denied making such offensive remarks, many students, community members, and even PHS staff believed that he was the voice behind the recording.
After the audio gained attention online, both Baltimore County Public Schools and the Baltimore County Police Department began investigating the matter.
Darien was the owner of an email account that searched for AI tools that could alter audio recordings and distributed clips on the school’s network in December and January, according to charging documents obtained by local news outlets.
Investigators say three teachers had obtained the video the night before it went viral. The first was Darian, the second was Shayna Ravenel, and the third was someone Darian and Ravenel had sent her.
Ravenel told police he sent the clip to news outlets, the NAACP and students “knowing that the message would spread rapidly across various social media outlets and throughout the school.”
“She did not say she had received it from Darien until confronted about his involvement,” the Banner reported, noting that she had not been charged with a crime for her involvement in the incident.
“The audio clip…had a significant impact,” police wrote in Darien’s charging documents. “The incident not only led to Eiswart’s temporary expulsion from the school, but also led to an influx of hateful messages on social media and numerous phone calls to the school. There was also significant disruption to PHS staff and students.”
Investigators say Darien used AI to fabricate the comments in response to the launch of an investigation into Eiswart, who is accused of making improper payments to a coach at another school who is also his roommate. I think it was for revenge.
The investigation began in December, when police said Darien transferred $1,916 from the school’s payroll system to a junior varsity basketball coach under the false pretense that he was also an assistant women’s soccer coach, which he was not. Ta.
A warrant for Darien’s arrest was issued on Wednesday, and he was arrested the next morning at Baltimore-Washington International Airport with a plane ticket to Houston, Texas.
Baltimore County Police Chief Robert McCullough told reporters that the attack occurred after Darien was stopped by airport security and questioned about whether he had properly packed his gun for travel.
When the guard ran his name in police records, a warrant appeared and he was taken into custody.
Darien was subsequently charged with interfering with school activities, theft, retaliation against a witness, and stalking.
“We now have conclusive evidence that the recording is not authentic,” McCullough said. Said during thursday Press conference, according to NBC News. “This recording was determined to have been generated using artificial intelligence technology.”
The newspaper said the police chief “didn’t take a step forward” as to whether Darien was trying to flee.
“As you can imagine, these are very difficult times. [the] Dear Pikesville High School community, Principal Eiswart and his family,” said Baltimore County Public Schools Superintendent Miriam Rogers.
Lloyd Fox/Baltimore Sun/Tribune News Service (via Getty Images)
Eiswart has not worked at PHS since the investigation began and has no plans to return for the remainder of the school year. Rogers said the district will work with him to determine assignments for next school year.
District officials recommended that Darien be fired, according to the Banner, but she added that he and Ravenel had already submitted their resignations as of April 16. The end date for the pair’s work within the school system is set for June 30th.
When the audio was presumed authentic in January, Rogers called the audio “disturbing” and said it was “highly offensive information about African-American students, Pikesville High School staff, and Pikesville’s Jewish community.” It said it contained “inappropriate remarks.”
Billy Burke, president of Eiswart’s local union, the Council of Administrative Supervisors and Employees (CASE), was the only official to suggest that the video may have been generated by AI.
At the January school board meeting, Mr. Burke expressed disappointment that people automatically assumed that Mr. Eiswart had made these comments, and that the principal had called police to his home because of the harassment and intimidation his family had received. He said that he was being guarded.
Burke said he also received harassing mail at the time.
“We remain concerned about the harm these actions have caused to Principal Eiswart and his family, the students and staff of Pikesville High School, and members of our Black and Jewish communities,” the union president said in a statement Thursday. “We hope that intentional action will be taken to heal the trauma caused by the fake voices and that all people will feel healed.”
Police said PHS needed to increase police presence on campus after school teachers raised safety concerns following backlash over the video.
Police said they believed the audio was genuine and that teachers “expressed concerns that recording devices may have been placed in various locations within the school.”
Police said, “The release of the recordings had a deep impact on the relationship of trust between teachers and the administration.” “One person said that instead of speaking at school, he made a sensitive phone call in his car in the parking lot.”
Baltimore County State’s Attorney Scott Shellenberger said this is the first case involving false AI audio recordings the county has prosecuted, and one of the first of its kind in the nation. .
“I think it’s very clear to me that we may have to go down to the Annapolis Legislature next year and make some adjustments to bring the legislation up to date with the technology that’s being used. ” he said.
Baltimore County Executive Johnny Olszewski Jr. called recent advances in AI technology “very concerning” and said people should remain vigilant in investigating those using AI with malicious intent. He said there is.
He added that there should be increased investment in ways to identify forged audio recordings.
Cindy Sexton, president of the Baltimore County Teachers Association, added that the National Education Association is working to address AI concerns, but more needs to be done.
“We have to do something as a society, but of course the big question is ‘what is that?'” Sexton said.
