A Maryland high school athletic director was detained on Thursday after police claimed he had used artificial intelligence to create a fictitious sound recording of a principal making racist and antisemitic remarks. The class opened an investigation into him, and the investigation turned up an alleged frame-up that he had used as retaliation.
Three months after the false voice recording of Pikesville High School Principal Eric Eiswert was widely circulated, Dazhon Darien was detained at Baltimore’s international airport, according to Baltimore County Police Chief Robert McCullough. The false recording was made in the vicinity of Pikesville High School.
Eiswert’s speech, which McCullough and AI researchers believe was simulated, made disparaging remarks about Black students, who make up 50 percent of the student body, and the Jewish community. The Baltimore suburb of Pikesville was the scene of a firestorm after the clip, where students reportedly demanded Eiswert’s ouster while numerous staff members reportedly vowed to defend his character.
Police immediately raised questions about the audio’s authenticity, and they claimed Darien accessed the school’s network on numerous occasions in December and January to search for OpenAI tools, as reported by The Baltimore Banner. He also allegedly used “Large Language Models” that practice “deep learning”.
A voice similar to Eiswert’s can be heard in the viral video referring to “ungrateful Black kids who can’t test their way out of a paper bag.” The clip also mentioned how hard it is to get those students to meet grade-level expectations, the Banner reported.
The voice reportedly also mentioned the names of staff members, describing how they ought to have been fired and how they ought to have been replaced “somehow or another.”
“And if I have to get one more complaint from one more Jew in this community, I’m going to join the other side,” the voice also said.
The video reportedly was sent to three teachers before it went viral and became widely shared.
Darien faces charges including theft, stalking, disruption of school operations, and retaliation against a witness, said McCullough.
In a press conference, authorities conceded Thursday that the scandal shows “we’re entering a new, deeply concerning frontier”.
McCullough claimed that Darien made the recording in response to Eiswert, who had launched a probe into possible mishandling of school funds. Eiswert remains employed at the school, but Darien has resigned.
Darien has been under investigation since December, with authorities suspecting him of bypassing proper procedures to pay the school’s J.V. basketball coach—who was also his roommate—nearly $2,000 using school funds. He was also criticized for firing a long-standing coach without the school’s higher authorities’ consent, according to The Banner.
