Athletic director used AI to frame principal with racist remarks in fake audio clip, Baltimore police say

A high school athletic director in Maryland has been accused of using artificial intelligence to impersonate a principal on an audio recording that included racist and antisemitic comments, authorities said Thursday.

Authorities said the case appears to be among the first of its kind in the country and called for new laws to guard against the technology.

Experts also warned that artificial intelligence is becoming increasingly powerful, while the ability to detect it may lag behind without more resources.

Dazhon Darien faked the voice of Pikesville High School's principal in response to conversations the men had about Darien's poor work performance and whether his contract would be renewed, Baltimore County police said.

Concerns included allegations that Darien paid his roommate $1,900 in school funds under the false pretence of coaching the girls soccer team, police said.

Darien forged an audio clip in which it sounded as if the principal was frustrated with black students and their test-taking abilities, police wrote in charging documents.

They said the recording also purported to capture the principal disparaging Jewish individuals and two teachers.

The audio clip quickly spread on social media and had “profound repercussions,” the court documents stated, with the principal being placed on leave.

The recording put the principal and his family at “significant risk,” while police officers provided security at his house, according to authorities.

The recording also triggered a wave of hate-filled messages on social media and an inundation of phone calls to the school, police said. Activities were disrupted for a time, and some staff felt unsafe.

“Teachers have expressed fears that recording devices could have been planted in various places in the school,” the charging documents stated.

Darien, 31, faces charges that include theft, disrupting school activities, stalking and retaliating against a witness, according to court documents.

Scott Shellenberger, the Baltimore County state's attorney, said the case appears to be one of the first of its kind nationwide involving artificial intelligence that his office was able to find.

He said Maryland's Legislature may need to update state laws to catch up with the nefarious possibilities of the new technology.

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