These days, everyone knows photos can live online forever. 

But what if those photos aren’t even real?

And even worse, what if those images depict a student naked?  

Known as explicit deepfakes, these types of images are surfacing with increasing prevalence in the age of artificial intelligence. 

In a matter of minutes and using only a few photos, people can create these images, says Julianne, a senior at Valley Catholic High School. 

Julianne, right, and Richa, students at Valley Catholic High School, present at the Artificial Intelligence conference on May 12 at the University of Portland. The two co-founded a campaign to protect students from being victimized by AI-generated images and online exploitation. Photo by Julianne. 

“We are told that things stay on the internet forever, but this seems really unfair since it’s not even real,” she says. “It’s also a violation of that person’s body, values and consent.” 

This type of bullying and sexual harassment disproportionately affects young women, and she believes her school and schools around the region, state and country are simply not ready. 

“This is not hypothetical,” she says. 

A recent study from the Center for Democracy & Technology found that 2.3 million students -- about 15% -- reported hearing about or seeing AI-generated deepfakes that depicted their classmates.

That’s why she and fellow student, Richa, co-founded the STOP Explicit Deepfakes campaign last year. The campaign aims to help schools put proactive systems in place to protect victims and educate students who are creating the images about the harm they’re causing. The two estimate they have helped 500 educators from around the region.  

She and Richa spent a Tuesday morning in May at the University of Portland speaking to an auditorium full of educators from around northwest Oregon. Their goal was to get educators talking about AI and highlight some of the very real harms students face because of it. 

Northwest Regional Education Service District hosted the conference along with Clackamas and Multnomah ESDs. The event focused on artificial intelligence in education and tackled the threats Julianne and Richa highlighted. 

It also covered the opportunities AI brings to educators and students. 

There were 38 presentations about how teachers can use AI to automate tedious tasks, create tailored reading passages based on a student’s skill level or communicate with families. There were also presentations about how students can use it to prepare for tests or what districts should consider when creating AI-related policies. 

Several presentations, like the one Julianne and Richa gave, were led by students themselves. 

A group of four freshmen from Westview High School in Beaverton talked about a club they are launching next year for students who hope to start a business one day. 

From left: Navi, Vishakh, Harish and Vedanth, all freshmen at Westview High School in Beaverton, are launching a future founder’s club at their school next year. Photo by Tracey Goldner.

They came to get input and feedback on their club and said they are looking for sponsors for their work. They hope to host a competition next year where students can use AI to develop and pitch business ideas. 

They recently secured a sponsorship from Hack Club, a nonprofit that supports student-run computer science and programming clubs. 

Vedanth says the prospect of jobs in the computer software industry disappearing scares and excites him. 

“I get to explore different opportunities in different fields now,” he says of his potential pivot away from a field he had long dreamed of joining. 

The students contend that sound ethics are central to using and teaching students about AI. 

Vishakh says most students know how to use AI to complete math assignments or summarize essays, but not much else. They use basic prompts like solve this or recap that. 

“I think it’s really important that we show people what you can do with AI,” he says. Five years ago it took considerable time to build a website or app, but now it can be done in a fraction of the time, he says. 

Navi is also wary of the economic shocks that AI poses, especially in the technology field, so he says he’s thinking about it more conservatively and with more guardrails. 

Still, the thought of some of the specific applications that AI makes possible excites him. For example, he’s been reading about how AI could be used to help people regrow limbs. 

The four attended a presentation later that day, led by three students, also from Beaverton, who have spent the past four years thinking deeply about AI. 

Henry and Yash, both seniors at Sunset High School, and Shiva, a senior at Beaverton Academy of Science and Engineering, launched Artificial Intelligence Rethought in 2022 to help educators navigate this new and disruptive technology. 

They were part of a 20-person committee last year that developed an AI policy for the Beaverton School District. As part of that work, they surveyed 300 Beaverton students about AI and heard resoundingly that students want more AI education.

Shiva, left, a senior at Beaverton Academy of Science and Engineering, and Yash, a senior at Sunset High School, asked hundreds of Beaverton School District students what they think about AI. They presented those findings to educators at the third annual Artificial Intelligence Empowered EDU conference on May 12 at the University of Portland. Photo by Tracey Goldner. 

“They don’t want to learn it,” Henry says. “They told us they need to learn it for their futures.” 

He said there’s a disconnect between school life and the real world that educators really need to bridge. “If workers are expected to use AI and are rewarded for using it, but we’re not teaching students those skills, how are students expected to prepare for the future,” he asked? 

Shiva, Yash and Henry interact every day with hesitant teachers, so they launched a 8-week course that covers the basics of AI for teachers with examples of how to use it in their classrooms, and they offer it free to any educator. 

They also believe these lessons shouldn’t wait until students are older. They need to be learning these skills in kindergarten, they say. 

The group visited Terra Linda Elementary School in December to teach students basic AI skills like using descriptions to generate images. They said the students loved it. They recently presented to middle schoolers at Aloha-Huber Park with similar success. 

Jennifer Hart, teaches science, technology, engineering and math skills to students from Dufur, Hood River County, North Wasco and South Wasco school districts. She is training teachers and students alike to use NotebookLM this year. Photo by Tracey Goldner.

When Jennifer Hart, a science, technology, engineering and math skills teacher who works with four school districts in the Columbia Gorge, introduced NotebookLM to Hood River Valley High School sophomores Carden and Sawyer about 10 months ago, they were astounded by what it could do. 

The Google product lets teachers upload specific materials into the program and then allows students to explore the information without them being let loose into the wider AI landscape. 

Carden says he uses it as a study tool but never lets it think for him. 

“You shouldn’t use it to read for you,” he says. 

However you learn, though, there is a format for that. The program can create quizzes, flash cards, videos or podcasts. 

Carden says he loves putting the audio versions on his car when he’s driving as a way to prepare for tests.

He and Sawyer have been helping teachers launch the program at their school this year. 

“It helps you digest a lot of information in a short amount of time,” he says. 

Mandy, an English language arts teacher at Hood River Valley High School, says she wishes all students could participate in study groups like that. But she says a lot of her students work after-school jobs to provide for their families. They are starting homework at 10 or 11 at night and don’t have anyone to study with. 

“I wish it were different,” she says. But this tool is their study group. 

The theme of job displacement simmered in the background and surfaced at several points throughout the conference. 

Charlotte Gant, right, a literacy specialist at Clackamas Education Service District, says she appreciated having the opportunity to gather with other educators to think deeply about how AI is affecting students and educators. She says she’s noticed a pendulum swing in recent months as the initial excitement has started to wear off. “Now it’s like people are taking a pause,” she says. Photo by Tracey Goldner.

We want them to come out of school ready for whatever path they are choosing next -- whether that’s a job, a certification or trade program, or college. 

It’ll require a balance between teaching students to use AI while also challenging them to think critically, problem-solve and gain the soft skills that will help them succeed and be coachable in the workplace, she says. 

View more photos of this event.