Meet the 15-year-old deepfake victim pushing Congress into action
Francesca: I would really like for whoever’s doing this to be suspended or expelled, because I think it’s important for everyone to feel comfortable if it’s someone from your school. And I would also like an apology. I would forgive that person, but, you know, I would never forget.
Dorota, you mentioned you haven’t been pleased with the school’s response. Is there anything you would like schools to do differently to either respond to situations like this or prevent them from happening in the first place?
Dorota: I think education is so important on this matter—educating our children, educating ourselves—and then taking responsibility. I think we should use this [opportunity] to educate our girls that they’re worth it; even though they have been victimized, it doesn’t mean they should be ashamed and they should just accept things as they are and hope for them to pass. We have a wonderful school district. Our teachers are fantastic. Francesca wouldn’t be able to go through this whole situation without the support of her teachers. I cannot say good enough things.
But the administration simply is hoping for things to die down. I have no report. There’s no consequences, there’s no accountability, there’s no apology. I’m an educator myself. I own a private school in Jersey City. And I think as a mother and as a woman, I’m advocating for something different. I’m supporting my daughter, but as an educator, I’m advocating to create a safe place for our children, because it could happen to anybody. It does not necessarily have to be a woman, and I think we should send a clear message that this is not acceptable.
[In a statement to MIT Technology Review, Westfield superintendent Raymond González said, “The Westfield Public School District has safeguards in place to prevent this from happening on our network and school-issued devices. We continue to strengthen our efforts by educating our students and establishing clear guidelines to ensure that these new technologies are used responsibly in our schools and beyond.” The school also said it conducted an immediate investigation and is working with police.]
Do you think there’s a role for education that also teaches kids what’s appropriate and inappropriate, as well as how to protect themselves from the harms?
Dorota: Oh, absolutely. I think on many occasions [digital education] will be given to a, you know, physical education teacher, and they will be teaching the dangers of AI. Let’s be honest with each other: this is such a complex and sophisticated technology, and it’s ever changing. We should make sure that a specialist is teaching that class, and it shouldn’t be just at the beginning of the school year. It should be at least twice or three times, and it should be delivered in a meaningful way.
It really affects people’s lives. And Francesca has such a strong personality. She always has been a fighter. And I applaud her for speaking for herself. At the beginning, when she told me, Mom, I wanna fight, I said, Francesca, I want you to know that it can go either way. You’re going to hear people that are happy and you’re going to hear people that are really against you, and you have to be prepared for it. And she said, I am not a child. I can take people’s opinions and I want to speak up. But not everybody’s gonna have the same character as Francesca. Not everybody’s going to have the same support at home as Francesca. And there are going to be girls or boys who will not see the light at the end of the tunnel and will go for suicide or self-harm. And I don’t think we should wait for that. Education in a meaningful way is the most important thing.
