Students at the Hunter School of the Performing Arts are the latest to fall victim as a disturbing trend emerges of using AI to generate sexually explicit “deepfake” imagery.
According to Seven West Media, a teenage student was suspended for 10 days after allegedly being caught last month with 300 photos on their phone, taken from their school-mates’ social media accounts and edited using an app to create inappropriate content.
Police have confirmed officers from Newcastle City PD were investigating an incident alleged to have occurred on May 23 “relating to a child at a school in Broadmeadow.”
It is understood the authorities, as well as the parents of those directly involved, were informed the day the school executive became aware of the matter, which occurred outside of the school.
In a statement, a spokesperson for the Education Department said the school was dealing with the situation.
“Student wellbeing is one of Hunter School of the Performing Arts’ highest priorities, and no inappropriate behaviour is tolerated, including behaviour outside school which affects students at school,” the spokesperson said.
“While this matter occurred entirely out of school, the role of the school is to educate students in how to remain safe online when using social media.”