Stanford used AI to turn a male student into a Black woman, then made his 2 friends ‘thinner’ in an ad
'I'm so tired, I want it to stop,' says Billy Ramirez, adding he doesn't want to be remembered for this controversy
The rapid surge of artificial intelligence across fields is no secret, yet responsible use starts with transparency. This principle becomes even more critical when it involves the individuals being depicted. That line, however, collapsed entirely recently for Stanford sophomore Billy Ramirez when he noticed a promotional banner hanging inside the Governor's Corner dining center. What should have been a familiar snapshot of him and his peers was quietly altered behind the scenes using generative AI to swap Ramirez with a Black woman. The Stanford Daily captured his reaction on September 23, 2026, sparking a discussion on the ethical use of AI. ABC 7 News also covered it on September 24, 2026, gaining 182,000 views in 24 hours.
The original campus snapshot
The story traces back to a routine celebration at Stern Dining Hall, where students gathered for an authentic 2024 Lunar New Year dinner. University photographers captured candid frames of the attendees enjoying their meals and community. This produced an untouched photograph that Residential & Dining Enterprises (R&DE) later archived for internal campus media. For months, the candid visual circulated without any dispute, functioning as any other document of collegiate social life.
An unsettling discovery
Trouble surfaced only after Ramirez got an unexpected text from a friend pointing toward a newly installed custom banner inside the Governor's Corner student housing complex. Looking closely at the dining display, Ramirez realized his image had vanished from the group shot. "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. The dining division had applied generative tools not only to plaster school apparel and thin down two peers' faces but also to overwrite Ramirez's Hispanic identity with a Black woman.
Outrage on campus
The quiet manipulation quickly moved from a private surprise to an open campus controversy when Ramirez published side-by-side evidence on Fizz, a student-focused discussion platform. The post immediately picked up traction, drawing widespread condemnation from classmates who criticized the synthetic revision of living people. "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," he noted.
As screenshots spread from local threads to national media outlets like ABC7, student government officers stepped forward to demand accountability. "Students should be able to trust that their images are used accurately and respectfully," said Associated Students of Stanford University (ASSU) President Jared Hammerstrom. Facing mounting public scrutiny, the university tore down the offending banner and admitted that the department had bypassed established campus guidelines. They even conceded that they broke their own AI policies.
Lingering calls for change
Despite the university taking down the promotional banner, the emotional fallout and public fatigue lingered heavily on the students whose faces had been distorted. "I'm so tired, I want it to stop," Ramirez said, anxious that his college tenure would be defined entirely by viral coverage rather than his academic journey. This is a huge reason why people want more control over how AI is used in their lives.
According to a Pew Research survey, only 13% of Americans feel they have substantial control over how AI is used in their lives, while 30% believe they have some control. Meanwhile, 57% say they have little or no control over its use. Nearly six in 10 Americans (61%) want greater control over AI in their lives, a six-percentage-point increase since 2024. Just 17% are satisfied with their current level of control, while 21% remain unsure.
Why would they change it?
Viewers were equally baffled as to why the photograph was altered. @letsfindoutwhy3233 commented, "The first photo was great; it looks like a regular picture you would take at university. These are young people who don't deserve to be treated that way." Meanwhile, @user-zm8cv1po1x pointed out, "It's also super problematic that they altered the Asian student to be 'more attractive' in their eyes. It's harmful to make people not look like normal people and think AI standards are what's normal. This hurts women and girls."
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