Stanford Takes Down Campus Banners After Using AI to Replace Real Hispanic Student with Nonexistent Black Woman

As Stanford University kicked off its new academic year in September 2026, large "Welcome Home" promotional banners were hung across campus. However, Billy Ramirez, a senior majoring in human biology, was stunned to discover that a 2024 photo of him and two classmates eating noodles in a dining hall had been digitally altered with generative AI. Ramirez, a Hispanic student, was completely erased from the image and replaced with a nonexistent Black woman. Meanwhile, the faces of his two classmates in the photo—an Asian woman and a white man—were noticeably altered with AI slimming filters.

The banners were produced by Stanford's Residential & Dining Enterprises (R&DE) department. In interviews with the Stanford Review and the San Francisco Chronicle, Ramirez said he was baffled by the alteration and "felt silenced and erased from a representation that was supposed to include me." Ramirez noted: "It’s all over campus. It’s the first thing you see when you walk in. Inserting a fake Black student didn't reflect reality. It’s not as diverse as they make it out to be." He also noted that even after the incident went viral on campus social platform Fizz, university administrators had not contacted him or apologized.

Stanford University spokesperson Charlene Gage confirmed that AI was used to alter the image in violation of university policy. Stanford's guidelines strictly prohibit using AI to produce or alter images of students, faculty, events, or campus facilities without disclosure. The university announced it is taking down the banners across campus and will provide additional training for staff.

The incident was first reported by the student publication Stanford Review, with subsequent coverage and university confirmation published by the San Francisco Chronicle.

BenPig thinks replacing a real living person with a fake one is just bizarre.