A Baltimore high school athletic director, Dazhon Darien,31, was arrested and charged Thursday with using AI to create a deepfake audio. The voice recording impersonated the principal using racist comments about students and staff.
The Baltimore County Police Department have been investigating since the recording of Principal Eiswert of Pikesville High School surfaced. It was posted on Instagram on January 17. The recording triggered a big online response and prompted an investigation from the school district.
Deepfake audio goes viral
According to Baltimore County Police Chief Robert McCullough, Darien is accused of using artificial intelligence software to falsify a voice recording of Eiswert. The fabricated deepfake went viral after it circulated on social media and caused widespread outrage in Baltimore County.
The racist recording in the principal’s voice claimed Black students couldn’t “test their way out of a paper bag.” And questioned “how hard it is to get these students to meet their grade-level expectations.”
