{"version":1,"type":"story","url":"https://digestai.news/story/stanford-r-de-used-ai-to-alter-students-race-and-gender-in-ads","json":"https://digestai.news/story/stanford-r-de-used-ai-to-alter-students-race-and-gender-in-ads.json","markdown":"https://digestai.news/story/stanford-r-de-used-ai-to-alter-students-race-and-gender-in-ads.md","slug":"stanford-r-de-used-ai-to-alter-students-race-and-gender-in-ads","headline":"Stanford R&DE used AI to alter students' race and gender in ads","summary":"Stanford Residential & Dining Enterprises recently employed generative AI to modify the images used in its campus advertising. The technology replaced a photo of sophomore Billy Ramirez ’27 with an AI‑generated Black woman and slimmed the faces of two nearby students. Ramirez said a friend sent him the altered banner, and he was initially amused before feeling “silenced and erased” because his identity had been changed without consent.\n\nThe changes sparked thousands of reactions on the social platform Fizz, with many questioning the university’s motives and the ethical use of AI in marketing. The Review, which reported the incident, said it will keep watching Stanford R&DE’s future advertising to see whether similar alterations reappear.","keyPoints":["Stanford R&DE used generative AI to replace a student’s photo with an AI‑generated Black woman and thin other faces.","Student Billy Ramirez ’27 discovered the alteration and said it made him feel erased and upset.","The incident generated thousands of reactions on Fizz and prompted the Review to monitor future ads."],"whyItMatters":"The case shows how AI can be misused to change personal identities in marketing, raising ethical and consent concerns for institutions and the public.","category":{"slug":"society","name":"Society & Work","url":"https://digestai.news/category/society"},"entities":{"companies":["Stanford Residential & Dining Enterprises"],"models":[],"people":["Billy Ramirez"]},"firstPublishedAt":"2026-09-22T13:52:56Z","updatedAt":"2026-09-22T13:52:56Z","sourceCount":1,"hasPrimarySource":false,"sources":[{"outlet":"stanfordreview.org","title":"Stanford R&DE Uses AI to Race Swap Students for Advertising","url":"https://stanfordreview.org/stanford-r-de-uses-ai-to-race-swap-students-for-advertising","publishedAt":"2026-09-22T13:52:56Z","type":"press","primary":false,"lead":true}],"sourceNotes":null,"discussions":[{"site":"Hacker News","url":"https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49801330","points":47}],"thread":null,"cite":{"text":"Digest AI, \"Stanford R&DE used AI to alter students' race and gender in ads\", 22 September 2026, https://digestai.news/story/stanford-r-de-used-ai-to-alter-students-race-and-gender-in-ads","publisher":"Digest AI","title":"Stanford R&DE used AI to alter students' race and gender in ads","datePublished":"2026-09-22T13:52:56Z","url":"https://digestai.news/story/stanford-r-de-used-ai-to-alter-students-race-and-gender-in-ads"},"generatedBy":"Written by Digest AI's editorial model from the linked sources; the sources are the record.","license":"Headlines, digests and key points are written by Digest AI and may be quoted with a link to the story page. Linked articles belong to their publishers. Terms: https://digestai.news/terms#reuse"}