Stanford faces backlash after AI turns Latino student into Black woman in promotional image

The university removed the altered photo after students said changes to their identities and ethnic features left them feeling misrepresented.

Stanford University is facing criticism after its Residential & Dining Enterprises department used artificial intelligence to replace a Latino male student with a Black woman in a promotional image, a move the university says violated its own policy.

The photo alterations came to light after student Billy Ramirez discovered that a photograph featuring him and two other students had been digitally changed.

The original image showed Ramirez and two classmates holding plates of food at a Stanford dining hall. In the altered version, Ramirez was removed and replaced by an AI-generated Black woman. The other students were also modified, including changes to their faces and clothing.

Ramirez told AfroTech that he initially found the changes funny before becoming upset about how he had been 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,” Ramirez said.

Stanford confirmed that AI was used to alter the photograph and said both the alteration and failure to disclose it violated university policy. The banner featuring the Stanford AI photo has since been removed, and the university said additional staff training and review procedures are being implemented.

The other two students pictured have also spoken out. In a statement published Wednesday night, they said they were embarrassed by changes to their ethnic facial features and had filed a Title VI discrimination report.

The students are requesting a public apology and a transparent investigation into how the image was created. They also called on Stanford to ensure AI-generated images of students are not used in the future.