An athletic director at a high school in Baltimore, Maryland, has been arrested for allegedly using artificial intelligence (AI) tools to create a fake audio recording in which the school’s principal appeared to make racist comments.
Dazhon Darien, a 31-year-old physical education teacher at Pikesville High School, was arrested on Thursday on charges of stalking, theft, disruption of school operations, and retaliation against a witness, Baltimore County Police said in a Facebook post.
Police said detectives initially began investigating the audio in January when it first started circulating on social media.
At the time, it was alleged that the voice on the audio file was that of Pikesville High School principal Eric Eiswert.
In the audio, it sounded as though the principal had made racist comments about black and Jewish people while speaking to an assistant principal at the school, officials said.
Specifically in the audio, the individual who sounded like Mr. Eiswert called black kids “ungrateful,” adding that they “couldn’t test their way out of a paper bag.”
“How hard is it to get these kids to meet their grade level expectations?” the audio continued.
The individual who sounded like Mr. Eiswert also disparaged Jewish people.
According to police, the audio had “profound implications” for Mr. Eiswert, who vehemently denied making the recording but was ultimately suspended from the school temporarily.
‘Recording Contained Traces of AI-generated Content’
Following an extensive investigation, which involved an expert in forensic analysis analyzing the recording, police allegedly found “conclusive evidence” that the audio was not authentic.“The results from that analysis indicated the recording contained traces of AI-generated content,” police said.
A second forensic analyst with the University of California, Berkley also determined the recording was not authentic, law enforcement officials noted.
“Based on that information and further investigation, it’s been determined the recording was generated through the use of artificial intelligence technology,” police said.
Police believe Mr. Darien had accessed the school’s network on multiple occasions between December and January in an attempt to use OpenAI tools, and used “Large Language Models” that practice “deep learning,” to create the audio, The Baltimore Banner reports.
According to multiple reports, Mr. Darien was arrested at Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport on Thursday morning shortly after security guards screened him when he tried to declare a gun at the airport.
Mr. Darien was released on Thursday on a $5,000 unsecured bond, Baltimore County Police said.
It is not clear if he is still employed at Pikesville High School, although Baltimore County School Superintendent Myriam Rogers told ABC News that officials at the school had begun the administrative process to discipline him, which could lead to his termination.
The Epoch Times has contacted a spokesperson at the school for further comment.
