School officials released new details Friday following their investigation into the use of artificially generated nude photos of students that were shared among classmates at a middle school in Beverly Hills last month.
“Sixteen eighth-grade students were identified as being victimized, as well as five egregiously involved eighth-grade students,” a letter from the Beverly Hills Unified School District Superintendent stated.
Administrators first learned that classmates’ faces were being superimposed onto AI-generated nude bodies and being distributed at Beverly Vista Middle School on Feb. 21, according to a news release sent the following week.
Artificial Intelligence image generation uses machine learning algorithms to create or manipulate digital images.
“Significant in this matter was the containment within twenty-four hours of the isolated incident regarding the involved parties,” the superintendent stated in the letter.
“Furthermore, we recognize that kids are still learning and growing, and mistakes are part of this process. However, accountability is essential, and appropriate measures have been taken.”
The superintendent did not provide details about the measures citing the California Education Code but the Los Angeles Times reported that the board of education voted to expel the five 8th graders during a special meeting Wednesday evening.
The names of the students were not released.
The Beverly Hills Police Department’s investigation into the incident is ongoing but it was unclear if any students would face legal consequences.