5 Beverly Hills students expelled for sharing AI-generated nudes of classmates

BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. (KABC) -- Five eighth-grade students have been expelled from their Beverly Hills school for their involvement in using artificial intelligence to generate nude images of classmates and sharing them with others.

School officials say they learned last month of the images, in which faces of students at Beverly Vista Middle School were superimposed on AI-generated nude bodies.

The victims are 16 eighth-grade students, the district said.

In a letter to parents, the district said it's limited in the details it can share on what disciplinary action was taken. But parents told Eyewitness News they understood that the eighth-grade students accused of sharing the photos were expelled.

"I don't think they should have done what they did," eighth-grader Riley Yousef said. "I think they deserved to get expelled."

Riley's mother Fiona Javaheri called the punishment adequate and said they need to be made an example of.

"This kind of behavior is unacceptable. I do not blame the children - they are children, this is a middle school. I don't blame them at all. I do blame, sorry to say, the parents," Javaheri said. "The children are their responsibility, and they should be aware of what their children are getting up to on their devices."

Riley said she knows everyone involved.

"It's just really uncomfortable for them. We've had a lot of presentations about it," she said. "The police came. It feels really weird and uncomfortable."

The school district said Beverly Hills police is still investigating.

"Furthermore, we recognize that kids are still learning and growing, and mistakes are part of this process," the district said in a statement. "However, accountability is essential, and appropriate measures have been taken."