A New Jersey Westfield High School student, Francesca Mani, has come forward with her mother, Dorota, to address AI-generated pornographic images that she says were manipulated and shared of her and other female classmates over the summer.
According to CNN, the 14-year-old is calling for federal legislation to protect victims of AI-generated porn.
“In this situation, there was some boys or a boy — that’s to be determined — who created, without the consent of the girls, inappropriate images,” Dorota told the outlet on Nov. 4.
The high schooler said that more than 30 female students were victims of AI-generated images that were allegedly manipulated and released to the public.
The student and her mother are looking for the school and local and state government officials to take accountability for the situation.
Since becoming aware of the matter on Oct. 20, the school has launched an investigation
, with consultation from the Westfield Police Department.“There was a great deal of concern about who had images created of them and if they were shared,” said Westfield Principal Mary Asfendis in a letter to students and parents addressing the matter on Oct. 20.
“At this time, we believe that any created images have been deleted and are not being circulated. This is a very serious incident.”
“All school districts are grappling with the challenges and impact of artificial intelligence and other technology available to students at any time and anywhere,” Superintendent Dr. Raymond González said in a statement.
On April 27, NPR reported that policymakers had already addressed concerns regarding nonconsensual deepfake pornography.
According to Merriam-Webster Dictionary, a
“deepfake” is “an image or recording that has been convincingly altered and manipulated to misrepresent someone as doing or saying something that was not actually done or said.”“Laws and regulation will have to play a role, at least in some of the highest-risk areas,” said WilmerHale attorney Matthew Ferraro, an expert in legal issues around AI.
Ten states, including Texas and California, have already created policies that ban deepfakes, especially pornography. The European Union has already stepped into action by creating the AI Act to set rules and regulations on how AI can be used.
BLACK ENTERPRISE recently reported that the Biden administration has taken steps toward preventing potential AI risks through its Executive Order on Safe, Secure, and Trustworthy Artificial Intelligence. The executive order took effect on Oct. 30.
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