Stanford University Under Fire for Altering Identity of Students in Photo With AI

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“Stanford’s AI policy is clear: The use of AI in producing or altering images of Stanford people, events, research, facilities, or achievements is strictly prohibited” The post Stanford University Under Fire for Altering Identity of Students in Photo With AI …

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Stanford University Under Fire for Altering Identity of Students in Photo With AI

“Stanford’s AI policy is clear: The use of AI in producing or altering images of Stanford people, events, research, facilities, or achievements is strictly prohibited”

Posted by Mike LaChance Friday, September 25, 2026 at 11:00am 21 Comments

Stanford University has stirred a major controversy by not only changing the identity of students in a photo but using artificial intelligence (AI) to do so, in violation of the school’s own code.

The story is an interesting intersection of identity politics and technology. In the picture at the center of the story, a Latino male student is replaced by a black female. An Asian female student is also made to appear thinner.

The New York Post reports:

Stanford admits using AI to race swap white male student for black female in ad: ‘Erased’

Stanford University has admitted it violated its own artificial-intelligence rules by using AI to alter a promotional image that transformed a male student into a Black woman — and acknowledged that the university failed to disclose the manipulation.

The admission comes days after the student-run the Stanford Review published side-by-side images showing the original photograph and the AI-altered version.

Stanford said it has now reviewed the incident and confirmed that the image was altered with AI in violation of university policy.

“We have reviewed the matter and confirmed that AI was used to alter the image in violation of university policy,” a Stanford spokesperson said in statement.

“Stanford’s AI policy is clear: The use of AI in producing or altering images of Stanford people, events, research, facilities, or achievements is strictly prohibited,” the spokesperson added.

“Both the alteration and lack of disclosure in this case violate that policy. We are working with Residential and Dining Enterprises to provide additional training and ensure proper review of all materials.”

The university said it has opened an investigation to learn more about the incident and “put in place protocols to prevent it from happening again.”

“Not only the fact that the image was altered, but the ways in which it was altered, reflect a serious error in judgment,” a Stanford spokesperson told The Post. “We have apologized to the students in the photo whose images were altered or erased. Quite simply, this was wrong and should never have happened.”

Even the student in the middle looks a little different:

JUST IN: Stanford University is accused of using AI to change students’ race & gender while making others appear thinner in advertising, with one student saying he felt “silenced & erased.” pic.twitter.com/ziQe70PTek

— Polymarket (@Polymarket) September 21, 2026

The Stanford Daily has more:

University confirms use of AI-edited photo amid controversy

Stanford confirmed that Residential and Dining Enterprises (R&DE) used generative AI to modify the appearance of several students in a promotional image. R&DE changed the students’ clothing into Stanford merchandise, slimmed down two students’ faces and entirely changed one student’s race, gender and appearance.

University public relations director Charlene Gage said that the image was altered with AI in violation of University regulations. “Stanford’s AI policy is clear: The use of AI in producing or altering images of Stanford people, events, research, facilities, or achievements is strictly prohibited,” she wrote to The Daily…

In a statement to The Daily, Ramirez said that a friend initially sent him the edited photo. “I thought that maybe they merged me with the guy in the middle, but I was like ‘Oh, no, they actually replaced me,’” he said. He described the incident as “funny,” but also noted that he was exhausted by the current level of media attention he had received from outlets across the country.

“I’m so tired, I want it to stop,” Ramirez said. “I don’t want my legacy at Stanford to be ‘the AI guy.’”

See a video report below:

Featured image via YouTube.