AI Deepfake Scandal Rocks Sydney High School: Student Faces Investigation for Creating Explicit Images

Student allegedly creates deepfake porn of female students using AI

A student who allegedly made deepfake pornography of other female students at a school in Sydney, Australia is set to face disciplinary action over the "abhorrent" incident. The senior in high school, who cannot be named, allegedly used images from social media along with artificial intelligence to create pornographic photos of female students. A deepfake is digitally created or generated content that can portray someone doing something that never happened. The student also reportedly made fake social media profiles, according to The Daily Telegraph. Parents and students were notified of the incident in an email from New South Wales' Department of Education. "The school has been made aware that a 12th grade male student has allegedly used artificial intelligence to create a profile that resembles your daughters and others," the email read. "Unfortunately, innocent photos from social media and school events have been used. "We want to emphasize that your daughters have done nothing wrong, there are no inappropriate real photos of them being used. "I am sorry this has occurred." A NSW Department of Education spokesman said the department was working closely with police, who had launched an investigation into the incident. "We do not tolerate such behavior and will take the appropriate action," the spokesman said. "Our highest priority is to ensure our students feel safe and any decision about this student's future involvement in the school will be based on that. "We are helping affected students with appropriate wellbeing support and will do so as long as required." A NSW Police spokeswoman confirmed an investigation was launched on Jan. 6 following reports "inappropriate images were being produced and distributed online". "NSW Police are working with the eSafety Commissioner and the Department of Education. The investigation is ongoing," the spokeswoman said. NSW Minister for Education Prue Car said the incident was "abhorrent" and would not be tolerated while speaking at a press conference on Thursday morning. "There will be disciplinary action for the student," Car said. She thanked the deputy principal and the leadership at the school for their quick action and said the top priority was to ensure all students affected would be OK to return to school in the coming weeks. "Especially given the concerns that you would have if any of your children were facing this, but these students are in the senior secondary levels of their education, and this is an abhorrent turn of events, and there will be serious disciplinary action," Car said. NSW Premier Chris Minns echoed Car's thoughts. "This is illegal behavior, and I'm not going to speak about the specific case, because obviously that is before the police, and therefore it's taken very seriously both by police and by the Department of Education, no matter where it happens," Minns said. It follows a similar incident at a school in Victoria's northwest in June last year when a student allegedly created graphic nude images of about 50 girls from the school. A Victoria Police spokeswoman said a 17-year-old boy was issued a caution in relation to allegedly circulating explicit images online. "After extensive investigations, police consider the matter closed," the spokeswoman said. "If new information comes to light, police will investigate further." eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant said deepfakes could be "devastating to the person whose image is taken and altered without their knowledge or consent". "Image-based abuse, including the production of deepfake images and videos, is a persistent online harm which also represents one of the most egregious invasions of privacy," Inman said. She said the eSafety Commission could "provide real help" to Australians who fall victim to image-based abuse and urged anyone concerned about the non-consensual sharing of intimate images to come forward. The Senate passed a bill in August last year to tackle the rise in the creation and distribution of non-consensual deepfake pornography.

AI Deepfake Porn Scandal Rocks Sydney High School as Police Launch Investigation - Decrypt

A Sydney, Australia, high school student faces police investigation and disciplinary action after allegedly using artificial intelligence to create pornographic deepfake images of female classmates, marking one of Australia's first major AI-related incidents in an educational setting. A deepfake is a fake image generated using deep learning algorithms. It is highly realistic and, depending on the quality, hard to differentiate from a real photo. They are usually NSFW, but they don't necessarily have to be. The male student, who police did not name, allegedly scraped photos from social media accounts and school events to generate explicit AI images of multiple female students. He then distributed the content through fake social media profiles, according to emails sent by school officials to parents as reported by local media. The New South Wales Police launched an investigation following reports of "inappropriate images being produced and distributed online," according to The Guardian. The police are working with both the eSafety Commissioner and the Department of Education to address the incident. "The school has been made aware that a year 12 male student has allegedly used artificial intelligence to create a profile that resembles your daughters and others," read the school's email to affected parents, according to local media. "Unfortunately, innocent photos from social media and school events have been used." This is not an isolated case. About 530,000 teenagers in the U.K. have encountered nude deepfakes, according to a study by London-based non-profit Internet Matters. Last year, local news in Seattle, Washington, reported that a local teenager shared deepfakes of his classmates on social media. The year before that, a group of female students in New Jersey found that their classmates used their fully clothed photos as a base to generate NSFW deepfakes of them. The problem seems to be spreading as generative AI makes it easier to create basically anything. A survey by the Center for Democracy & Technology found that 50% of U.S. high school teachers know of at least one instance where someone from their school was depicted in AI-generated explicit content. New South Wales Education Minister Prue Car called the incident "abhorrent" during a Thursday press conference. "There will be disciplinary action for the student," Car said, praising the school's deputy principal for swift action in handling the situation. The Department of Education emphasized its zero-tolerance stance toward such behavior. "Our highest priority is to ensure our students feel safe," a department spokesperson told The Guardian. The school is providing ongoing wellbeing support to affected students. This incident follows a similar case in Victoria last June, where a 17-year-old student allegedly created explicit AI-generated images of about 50 female classmates. That student received a police caution after investigation. Legal experts point to gaps in current legislation for handling AI-generated explicit content. The Australian Senate passed legislation in August 2023 targeting non-consensual deepfake pornography, while advocates in the U.S. push for the Preventing Deepfakes of Intimate Images Act.