'Inappropriate images' circulate at yet another California high school, as officials grapple with how to protect teens from AI porn created by classmates

A third school in Southern California has been hit with allegations of digitally manipulated images of students circulating around campus.

The Los Angeles Unified School District has launched a formal inquiry into claims that 'inappropriate images' were created and shared by students at Fairfax High School.

LAUSD officials allege the images were distributed on a 'third-party messaging app' unaffiliated with the district.

'These allegations are taken seriously, do not reflect the values of the Los Angeles Unified community and will result in appropriate disciplinary action if warranted,' the district wrote in a statement on Wednesday.

The Los Angeles Unified School District launched an investigation after 'inappropriate images' were allegedly created and shared by students at Fairfax High School

District officials said the images were shared on a 'third-party messaging app,' but did not clarify whether the images were created using artificial intelligence

Furthermore, they wrote, LAUSD 'is committed to enhancing education around digital citizenship, privacy and safety for all in our school communities.'

The incident is the latest in a series of scandals plaguing schools in the Southern California region.

Just last month, administrators at Laguna Beach High School launched an investigation after a student allegedly created and circulated 'inappropriate images' of their classmates.

In an email to parents on March 25, Principal Jason Allemann wrote that school leadership was 'taking steps to investigate and directly address this issue with those involved.'

Simultaneously, he added, the matter should be viewed as 'a teachable moment for our students, reinforcing the importance of responsible behavior and mutual respect.'

The Laguna Beach Police Department is assisting with the pending investigation, which comes amid a separate inquiry by the Beverly Hills Police Department into the distribution of 'deepfakes' at a local middle school.

The Beverly Hills Unified School District issued a statement to parents when artificially generated nude photos of students began to circulate around Beverly Vista Middle School in late February.

An investigation is ongoing at Laguna Beach High School, where a student allegedly created and circulated 'inappropriate images' of their classmates last month

The term 'deepfakes' is used to refer to AI-generated media that has been manipulated to replace one person's likeness with that of another

Artificially generated nude photos of students began to circulate around Beverly Vista Middle School in late February, leading to the expulsion of five eighth graders

'Sixteen eighth-grade students were identified as being victimized, as well as five egregiously involved eighth-grade students,' Superintendent Michael Bregy wrote. 

While Bregy acknowledged that children 'are still learning and growing, and mistakes are part of the process,' he affirmed disciplinary measures had been taken and noted that the incident was swiftly contained. 

The district vowed to hold accountable any other students 'found to be creating, disseminating, or in possession of AI-generated images of this nature.'

The board of education voted to expel the five eighth graders, whose names have not been released, during a special meeting on March 6.

The term 'deepfake,' a portmanteau of 'deep learning' and 'fake,' originated on Reddit in 2017.

It was used to denote images created by a user who transferred celebrities’ faces onto pornographic video clips with the help of artificial intelligence.

Today, the term is used broadly to refer to AI-generated media that has been digitally manipulated to replace one person's likeness with that of another. 

The images produced are often so convincing that deepfake technology has spurred mass panic among celebrities and politicians alike.

The term 'deepfake,' a portmanteau of 'deep learning' (a type of artificial intelligence) and 'fake,' originated on Reddit in 2017

New York Rep. Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez recently shared her traumatic experience encountering an AI-generated pornographic video of herself online

The images produced are often so convincing that deepfake technology has spurred mass panic among celebrities and politicians alike.

Most recently, New York Rep. Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez rehashed the traumatic experience of seeing an AI-generated pornographic video of herself earlier this year.

She was inspired to introduce legislation in the House allowing victims of deepfakes to take civil action against the producers and distributors of the offensive content.

'Victims of nonconsensual pornographic deepfakes have waited too long for federal legislation to hold perpetrators accountable,' Ocasio-Cortez wrote in statement last month,

'As deepfakes become easier to access and create - 96% of deepfake videos circulating online are nonconsensual pornography - Congress needs to act to show victims that they won’t be left behind.'

The bill, dubbed the DEFIANCE Act, will create a federal civil right of action for victims of so-called 'digital forgery.'

It was introduced in the House on March 7 and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.