Stanford University Accused of Using AI to Change Race and Gender of Student in Advertisement Photo

Students at Stanford University have accused the school’s Residential & Dining Enterprises department of using artificial intelligence to alter students’ likeness.

Student-run newspaper The Stanford Review shared side-by-side photos in a Monday, September 21, report claiming that AI was used to change a student’s race and gender in an advertisement featuring a trio in a dining facility.

Student Billy Ramirez told the publication that he was sent the photo, which he said was taken by a Stanford photographer.

Ramirez, who was on the far right in the picture, claimed that he was completely removed and replaced with a young woman who is Black.

“I was driving to school from my hometown when my friend sent me the images comparing the banner to the original photos, and I was immediately baffled,” he told the Review.

“At first, I found it hilarious that they had used AI to completely change our appearances, including my race and gender,” he said. “But after looking at the comparison, I was also upset because I don’t agree with Stanford making those choices about how we were represented.”

“Seeing my identity changed and being left out of the picture made me feel, in a way, silenced and erased from a representation that was supposed to include me,” he added.

According to the publication — and the photos shared — the other students also appeared differently in the advertisement that was allegedly used by Residential & Dining Enterprises.

The other students’ faces appear to be slimmed down or slightly altered.

The original photo can be found in a 2024 post on the Stanford Dining’s Instagram.

It appears as though the Residential & Dining Enterprises nor the university itself has addressed the matter publicly.