Stanford University Apologizes for AI-Edited Promotional Photo

Stanford University has issued an apology for using artificial intelligence to replace a Hispanic male student with a Black female student in a promotional image. They referred to this choice as a “serious error in judgment.” Additionally, the image altered the appearances of a white male student and an Asian female student, making them appear noticeably slimmer.

“The modifications to the image, as well as the act of altering it in this way, reveal a significant lapse in judgment,” a Stanford representative said to NBC News. “We have apologized to the students whose images were altered or removed.”

The spokesperson added, “This should not have occurred at all.” They also mentioned that an investigation has been initiated to establish protocols aimed at preventing similar incidents in the future.

Garret Molloy, the editor-in-chief of the Stanford Review, the first outlet to report the story, suggested that the university might have been attempting to create an artificial impression of diversity. “Previously, we relied on college photographers to capture diverse groups of students,” he explained. “Now, those photographers are being replaced by AI.”

Molloy also pointed out that the AI-edited photo used on welcome banners around campus has since been removed.

Stanford has drawn considerable ridicule on social media for its extreme approach to promoting diversity.

The incident involved Stanford Residential & Dining Enterprises, which was discovered employing AI to substitute a Hispanic male student with a Black female student in one of its advertisements, as well as altering the faces of two other students to make them look thinner.

“Experiencing my identity being changed and being excluded from a representation that was supposed to include me left me feeling, in a sense, silenced and erased,” said Billy Ramirez, the student whose image was omitted.