A teenage student has been suspended from an Adelaide private school after allegedly creating a deepfake image of a teacher.
The teenager is believed to be a student at the senior school of St Ignatius’ College. Principal Lauren Brooks confirmed that SA Police had been informed about the deepfake image and that the teacher featured in the image was being supported.
Brooks also stated that the student has been “suspended indefinitely while the matter is investigated”.
“The college is aware of this matter and the wellbeing of everyone involved is our highest priority,” Brooks said in a statement to The Advertiser.
Brooks said that the school and its staff had “invested considerable effort in educating our students about the significant risks these (online) platforms pose to their safety and dignity and that of others”.
“Whilst we appreciate this is a challenging space for young people, we have incredibly high standards of every Ignatian student,” she said, per The Advertiser.
“All our students must be accountable for their actions and the consequences that accompany them.”
While there has been no confirmation that the deepfake image was of a sexual nature, the scandal comes just two days after the South Australian Government passed a bill to ban the use of AI to generate violent or explicit deepfake images, audio or video.
The bill, known as the Bonaros bill after Upper House MLC Connie Bonaros, will see offenders who use AI to create such content facing up to four years’ jail or fines of up to $20,000.
“For too long, our laws have lagged behind technology. Victims of deepfake abuse have been left exposed, traumatised, and without real protection,” Bonaros said.
“These reforms send a powerful message: no matter how content is created, if it humiliates, degrades or invades someone’s dignity without consent, it will not be tolerated.
Frighteningly, the Saint Ignatius’ College deepfake situation isn’t the first we’ve seen in Australian schools.
Back in February, Victoria Police reportedly investigated two Year 11 boys after sexually explicit AI-generated pictures of teenage girls were circulated online.
In June 2024, a teenage boy was arrested over the alleged creation and distribution of explicit AI images of around 50 female students at a Victorian grammar school.
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