Dazon Darien, who was the PE director and PE teacher at Pikesville High School in Baltimore County, Maryland, USA, was accused of racist and anti-Semitic comments by the school’s principal, Eric Eiswart. He was arrested on charges of creating a voice using AI and disseminating it on social media.
Dazhon Darien: Ex-athletic director accused of framing principal with AI arrested at airport with gun – The Baltimore Banner
https://www.thebaltimorebanner.com/education/k-12-schools/eric-eiswert-ai-audio-baltimore-county-YBJNJAS6OZEE5OQVF5LFOFYN6M/
School athletic director arrested for framing principal using AI voice synthesis | Ars Technica
https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2024/04/alleged-ai-voice-imitation-leads-to-arrest-in-baltimore-school-racism-controversy/
Baltimore coach allegedly used AI voice cloning to get principal fired – The Verge
https://www.theverge.com/2024/4/25/24140556/ai-voice-cloning-baltimore-school-misuse
In January 2024, “audio of Principal Eiswart leaving racist comments” was spread on social media. Principal Eiswart was temporarily suspended as a result of the incident. When the Baltimore County Police Department investigated this audio, they found that while the audio was “flat toned and the background sounds were unusually clear, there was a lack of consistent breathing sounds or pauses,” which is a characteristic of AI-synthesized voices. It seems that it had. Furthermore, the file name of the audio file seems to include the name of Dazon Darien, who is a physical education teacher at Pikesville High School, the same as Principal Eiswart.
According to reports from WBAL 11 and NBC News, Darien used a computer at Pikesville High School to access OpenAI tools and Microsoft’s Bing chat to generate AI-synthesized speech. In addition, Darien’s email address and phone number were reportedly linked to the fake audio. However, it is not clear what kind of AI voice generation tool Darien used.
Baltimore County Police arrested Darien on Thursday, April 25, 2024 (local time), stating, “At the time, Darien, who was the athletic director at Pikesville High School, was conducting an investigation into the possibility of fraudulent handling of student funds. It appears that the AI synthesized voice was created in order to take revenge on Mr. Eiswart.” Darien has been released on bail at the time of writing, but he is charged with theft of school funds, obstruction of school operations, retaliation against witnesses, and stalking.
WBAL-TV, a local media outlet in Baltimore, also reported on Darien’s use of AI synthesized speech.
LIVE: Pikesville HS investigation update on AI-generated hoax – wbaltv.com – YouTube
As the accuracy of AI-synthesized speech improves, interest in voice cloning technology using AI is increasing, and many problems have also emerged. In January 2024, a phone call using an AI-generated voice of President Joe Biden was made to voters, leading to a major problem. In response, the Federal Trade Commission Act (FCC) has declared that “the use of AI voice for robocalls is illegal.”
President Biden’s “fake voice” calls generated by AI are being made to many voters – GIGAZINE
Amid growing concerns about AI-synthesized voices, OpenAI released an AI model “Voice Engine” at the end of March 2024 that can generate cloned voices from just 15 seconds of audio. However, in response to concerns about AI-synthesized voices, OpenAI has issued a statement regarding the general availability of Voice Engine, saying, “Due to the potential for misuse of synthesized voices, we are taking a cautious and informed approach toward widespread release.” “I will.”
OpenAI releases AI model “Voice Engine” that can generate cloned voice from just 15 seconds of voice – GIGAZINE
Tags: Physical education teacher arrested expel school principal synthesized voice Livedoor News
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