St Ignatius’ College student suspended over deepfake involving teacher

An Adelaide private school has suspended a student indefinitely after discovering a deepfake image involving a teacher.

A student at an Adelaide private school has been suspended after the discovery of a deepfake image involving a teacher.

St Ignatius’ College principal Lauren Brooks confirmed the student, believed to be a teen boy in the senior school, had been “suspended indefinitely while the matter is investigated”.

The school reported the incident to SA Police and has informed parents.

In a statement to The Advertiser, Ms Brooks said the staff member involved “is being supported”.

“The college is aware of this matter and the wellbeing of everyone involved is our highest priority,” she said.

The revelation comes a day after the state government announced it would back laws to crack down on the use of artificial intelligence (AI) to generate violent or sexually explicit deepfake images, audio or video.

And it follows a spate of cases interstate in which teens who have allegedly created such content have been suspended and investigated by police.

St Ignatius' College. Picture: Matt Loxton

Saint Ignatius’ College principal Lauren Brooks. Picture: Saint Ignatius’ College

Ms Brooks said St Ignatius’ College, in Athelstone, 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.

“All our students must be accountable for their actions and the consequences that accompany them.”

It comes after a case in February in which two Melbourne students were suspended after allegedly using AI to generate sexually explicit images of female students, using school formal photos.

In January a male year 12 student in Sydney was referred to police over allegations he created explicit deepfake images of female classmates.

That same month the Australian Federal Police issued a warning to parents about a spike in sexually explicit content depicting children, “including a rise in students creating material such as deepfakes for a variety of reasons, including to harass or embarrass classmates”.

The eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant has warned that such content accounted for 98 per cent of the 95,820 deepfake videos that were found online in 2023 and 99 per cent of the victims depicted in them were female.

In 2023-24 she received 7270 reports of intimate images and videos that had been shared online without consent.

Australia’s eSafety Commissioner has found almost all victims of deepfake creations are female. Image: iStock

Current South Australian laws cover the distribution of humiliating, invasive or indecent deepfakes that have altered the image, or video footage, of a real person.

The new laws, drafted by SA Best MLC Connie Bonaros, make it clear that content wholly created by AI is also covered.

Offenders would face up to four years in jail or fines of up to $20,000.

SA Best MLC Connie Bonaros is pushing tougher laws to penalise people who create harmful deepfakes. Picture: Mark Brake

Ms Bonaros said the new laws sent a “powerful message (that) no matter how content is created, if it humiliates, degrades or invades someone’s dignity without consent, it will not be tolerated”.

“For too long, our laws have lagged behind technology (and) victims of deepfake abuse have been left exposed, traumatised, and without real protection,” she said.

Attorney-General Kyam Maher said the government would “not tolerate the use of AI to develop sick, degrading material”.

“While this technology is arguably still in its infancy, it can already be used to disturbing effect to create offensive and often sexualised deepfake images, video and audio,” he said.

There is no suggestion the deepfake produced by the student is sexually explicit.

SAPOL were contacted for comment.

For support visit esafety.gov.au or phone 1800 RESPECT.

Originally published as St Ignatius’ College student suspended over deepfake involving teacher