BALTIMORE HIGH SCHOOL AI DEEPFAKE OF PRINCIPAL’S RACIST RANT GOES VIRAL
Everyone who has a device of almost any kind is aware of AI. And almost all of those people (you people) also use AI in some form pretty much every day. But most of our use is fairly benign, though that usage is about to go way, way up with some AI integration of the iPhone that’s evidently soon to happen. But not all AI use is benign. ChatGPT alone is the cause for a whole host of other technology used to root out fake articles, school papers, even supposed political speeches. But AI also creates deepfake files, as in pictures, audio and video. And Baltimore’s Pikesville High School just became an example of how not benign AI can be.
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FORMER ATHLETIC DIRECTOR CREATED AI DEEPFAKE OF PRINCIPAL FOR REVENGE
There’s a narrative that needs explaining first, which involves how (now former) athletic director at the school Dazhon Darien was under an investigation by Principal Eric Eiswert over possible theft of school funds. Darien, apparently, paid his roommate (and also the school’s JV basketball coach) $1,916 without following school procedure. Darien then resigned shortly after, last month in April. But now, about a month later, we’re hearing the disturbing details of how Darien created a deepfake AI recording of Eiswert’s voice ranting racist and anti-semitic nonsense.
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AI DEEPFAKE WENT VIRAL CREATING DANGEROUS SITUATION FOR HIGH SCHOOL AND PRINCIPAL
And, well, one of the 3 teachers who “received” the deepfake clip sent it to students, media and the NAACP. And of course it went viral creating a veritable storm about the awful things Principal Eiswert said about black students and Jews. So much so that a police presence was needed at both the school as well as Eiswert’s home. But then police were able to suss out that not only was the audio clip an AI deepfake, it was one made by Darien. So far, it’s not clear how they identified him. But it is clear that Baltimore Police arrested Darien as he tried to board a flight to Houston, with a gun no less.
So this is pretty concerning stuff and this mess will take some time to clean up, particularly for the poor school principal. But bad actors are paying attention, and some are wondering how easy it would be to “swat” someone by creating a mob of rage before police can intervene.
