Billy Ramirez AI image incident — Oct 2026

Stanford University recently removed promotional banners from its campus after discovering that generative AI was used to manipulate a photograph of students. The original image, taken during a 2024 Lunar New Year dinner, featured student Billy Ramirez alongside two classmates. When the photo appeared on university dining services advertisements, Ramirez had been removed and replaced by a woman who was not present in the original shot.

What happened

The university's Residential & Dining Enterprises department utilized generative AI to alter the photograph, a move that violated internal university policies regarding the use of AI in marketing. Beyond the removal of Ramirez, the images of the two remaining students were also modified; their faces were made to appear thinner, their facial features were changed, and their clothing was altered to include Stanford-branded apparel.

Ramirez, who identifies as Mexican, expressed that the removal of his identity felt like being silenced and erased. The two other students featured in the banner subsequently issued a statement expressing embarrassment over the alterations to their ethnic facial features and have filed a Title VI report alleging discrimination.

Stanford University confirmed the use of AI and acknowledged that the lack of disclosure and the nature of the alterations violated their guidelines, which prohibit the publication of AI-generated material that falsely depicts university people or creates misleading impressions about representation. In response, the university removed the banners, initiated additional staff training, and committed to ensuring future materials undergo proper review. The incident has sparked broader discussions on campus regarding the necessity of authentic representation versus the fabrication of diversity.