AI-Generated Misinformation: The Threat in the 2024 Election Year

2024-04-26 02:43:13

A Baltimore High School athletic director was arrested Thursday and charged with using artificial intelligence to impersonate a principal on a voice recording that included disparaging comments about students and staff, authorities said.

Dazhon Darien, a physical education teacher and athletic director at Pikesville High School, is accused of using artificial intelligence software to falsify a voice recording of Principal Eric Eiswert, according to Baltimore County Sheriff Robert McCullough. The fabricated recording went viral after it circulated on social media in January, sparking widespread outrage and condemnation among the Baltimore County Public Schools community.

“We now have conclusive evidence that the recording was not authentic. The Baltimore County Police Department came to that determination after conducting an extensive investigation,” McCullough said during a news conference Thursday. “Based on these findings and further investigation, it was determined that the survey was generated using artificial intelligence technology.”

Darien, 31, was arrested Thursday and faces multiple charges, including theft, stalking, disrupting school operations and retaliation against a witness, police said. After a court appearance Thursday afternoon, Darien was released on a $5,000 unsecured bond.

Baltimore County State’s Attorney Scott Shellenberger said Thursday that the case appears to be one of the first of its kind nationwide. He noted that state lawmakers need to update legislation to incorporate the new technology.

The Baltimore case is the latest in a surge of artificial intelligence, or AI, abuses in schools across the country. Most cases involve “deepfakes,” or AI-generated synthetic media, which are images, videos, and audio that digitally manipulate an individual’s appearance, voice, or actions.

In the past year, schools have struggled to police the technology as male students in middle school and high school use AI to create nude photos of their classmates. While some cases resulted in arrests, others faced less serious consequences due to different district policies and state laws.

Deepfakes are part of the 2024 election: Will the federal government regulate them?

Police: False recording may have been done in retaliation for school investigation

The Baltimore County Police Department launched an investigation on Jan. 17 after an alleged voice recording of Eiswert making racist and anti-Semitic comments about students and staff was posted on Instagram. The recording sparked a massive online backlash and prompted an investigation from the school district.

In the recording, the voice said Black students were unable to test their way out of a paper bag and questioned “how difficult it is to get these students to meet their grade-level expectations.” The recording also made disparaging comments about Jewish people and named staff members who “should never have been hired.”

The Baltimore Banner reported that school community members believe Eiswert made those discriminatory comments. Eiswert has denied making the comments and has not worked at the school since the investigation began, according to the news outlet.

As part of the police investigation, McCullough said investigators worked with forensic analysts from the FBI and the University of California, Berkeley, who determined the recording was not authentic. “The results of that analysis indicated that the recording contained traces of AI-generated content,” McCullough said.

According to McCullough, police believe that Darien produced the recording in retaliation against Eiswert, who was conducting an investigation into the possible mishandling of school funds at the time.

Maryland Transportation Authority officers arrested Darien Thursday morning at Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport, McCullough said. Darien was attempting to board a flight when he was stopped and questioned about how his declared firearm was packed.

Officers ran a background check on Darien and an open warrant for his arrest appeared, McCullough added.

Baltimore County Public Schools said in a statement that the district take “appropriate action” against Darien’s actions, including a recommendation for termination.

Rise of deepfakes: ‘Entering a new, deeply troubling frontier’

Deepfakes are often used maliciously or to spread misinformation. The AI-generated synthetic media has already “proved to be harmful forces in schools, as students create deep fakes of their peers in intimate poses to mock and bully each other,” according to the Center for Democracy and Technology. There have also been cases of students creating deepfakes of their teachers.

“It’s clear that we’re also entering a new, deeply troubling frontier,” Baltimore County Executive Johnny Olszewski said Thursday. “As we continue to embrace emerging technology and its potential for innovation and social good, we must also remain vigilant against those who have used it for malicious intent.”

Last April, a student in Houston, Texas, was accused of digitally altering photos of a teacher and sharing those explicit images online, FOX 26 Houston reports.

In December, two Florida middle school boys were arrested on suspicion of using an AI app to create nude photos of their classmates, who were between the ages of 12 and 13, according to an arrest warrant. The boys were charged with third-degree felonies under a 2022 state law.

And in February, school administrators accused middle school students in Beverly Hills, Calif., of using AI to create fake nude photos of their classmates, according to NBC News. The superintendent told NBC News that the images include students’ faces digitally manipulated onto naked bodies.

Contributing: Zachary Schermele and Natasha Lovato, USA TODAY

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