Man arrested for 'framing colleague' with AI-generated voice

🌈 Abstract

The article discusses the case of Dazhon Leslie Darien, the former athletic director of Pikesville High School (PHS) in Baltimore, who was arrested for allegedly impersonating the school's principal using AI software to create a fake audio recording containing racist and antisemitic remarks. The recording led to the temporary removal of the principal, Eric Eiswert, and significant disruption to the school's operations, including threats against Eiswert. The police investigation found the recording to be AI-generated and determined that Darien was responsible for creating and distributing it, likely due to a conflict with Eiswert over Darien's work performance and a potential theft investigation.

🙋 Q&A

[01] The Alleged Incident

1. What was the nature of the fake audio recording that was circulated? The audio recording was alleged to contain racist and antisemitic remarks made by the school principal, Eric Eiswert. The recording depicted a conversation between Eiswert and one of the school's assistant principals, with Eiswert making disparaging comments about African-American students and Jewish individuals.

2. What were the consequences of the fake recording? The fake recording led to the temporary removal of Eiswert from his position as principal, a wave of hate-filled messages on social media, numerous calls to the school, and significant disruption to the school's operations. It also led to threats against Eiswert and concerns about his safety.

3. How did the police investigation determine the recording was fake? The police investigation, which included analysis by a forensic analyst contracted with the FBI and another from the University of California, Berkeley, concluded that the recording contained traces of AI-generated content and was not authentic.

[02] The Alleged Perpetrator

1. Who was Dazhon Leslie Darien, and what was his role in the incident? Dazhon Leslie Darien was the former athletic director of Pikesville High School (PHS). He was arrested and charged with witness retaliation, stalking, theft, and disrupting school operations for allegedly creating and distributing the fake audio recording.

2. What were the potential motives behind Darien's actions? According to the warrant, Eiswert had been investigating Darien's handling of school funds, and there had been conversations about Darien's contract not being renewed due to frequent work performance challenges, including an incident where Eiswert reprimanded Darien for firing a long-time coach without approval.

3. How did the police trace the creation and distribution of the fake recording back to Darien? The police investigation found that the Gmail account used to send the recording was created on an IP address associated with Darien's grandmother's residence, and the recovery phone number for the account was registered to Darien. They also found that Darien had searched for OpenAI tools on the school's network.